


The Captain of My Soul

by ElaineFox



Category: Star Trek, Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Daycare, Elementary School, First Kiss, First Time, Friends to Lovers, Growing Up Together, High School, Kelvin Incident Never Happened, Kid Fic, Like So Slow That My Snail Is Faster, M/M, Middle School, No Narada, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Protective Spock, Slow Build, Spock Prime Saved Romulus, Stupid Elementary School Bullies, Winona and George Kirk's A+ Parenting
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-02-15
Updated: 2016-09-19
Packaged: 2018-03-12 22:15:46
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 20
Words: 25,142
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3357236
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ElaineFox/pseuds/ElaineFox
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>S'chn T'gai Spock is being taken to an overnight childcare center while his parents go to a diplomatic conference. There he meets one James T. Kirk and the two become fast friends. "The Captain of my Soul" spans the years from childhood to early adult hood. This is a story about childhood adventures, growing up, and discovering yourself where you least expect to.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Grumpiness and Vulcans are Never a Good Mix

**Author's Note:**

> I do not in any way claim to own or have rights to any of the characters or ideas used in this story that were originally created by Gene Roddenberry, J.J. Abrams, Roberto Orci, CBS, Paramount, and any other contributors. This is a work of fiction for entertainment purposes. No profits are made. 
> 
>  
> 
> This is my first fic EVER! It will be multi chapter (don't ask me how long because I have no clue) and chapters will be of varying length. More tags will be added as the story progresses. If I offend anyone with anything I write do not hesitate to tell me. Trigger warnings will be added if needed (I'm undecided on that part of the plot). I would really appreciate any comments or costructive criticism you have for me! Thanks! 
> 
> -Elaine

Spock walked solemnly up the grey cement driveway clutching his mother, Amanda's, hand as if his life depended on it.

  
"There's no need to be so grumpy dear." Amanda chided softly. Spock stiffened and looked up at her chastising face.

  
"I am _not_   'grumpy', mother. Being 'grumpy' is highly illogical." Spock huffed back.

  
"You most certainly are grumpy," Amanda stopped walking and turned to face Spock. She knelt down and placed her cool hands on his shoulders. "Spock, your father and I both love you, you know this, but we're both required to attend the conference on Tellar Prime. He for his diplomatic skills, and me for my language knowledge." Amanda gave no thought to whether or not a five year old would be able to comprehend what she was saying because she knew her son could. Spock had learned advanced vocabulary at an early age, partly because of the relative careers of his parents and partly because of his intellect.

  
"However you have elected not to take me." Spock looked balefully at his mother.

  
"I did not 'elect not to take you', there are simply no children allowed at the conference. You know this. If I could take you, dear, I would in a heartbeat. I don't want to leave you behind." Amanda pulled Spock into her arms and hugged him.

  
"And yet you are doing just that." Spock mumbled his voice muffled by his mother's shoulder.

  
Amanda placed a kiss on the top of Spock's head. "Oh sweetie, it's only for a few days, a week at the most. Cherry Bloom is a wonderful childcare center and they'll take very good care of you until we get home."

  
"I am not concerned about whether or not the staff will take good care of me. I am concerned about the human children. They are loud and quite tactile. As you well know, I do not appreciate loud or tactile things."

  
"I know. But it is only for a short time. I'm sure you'll manage. Humans are not as wild as you think they are. I'm sure there's a little boy or girl in the center who is perfectly calm and well mannered just like you."

 

Spock was sure there was not but he acquiesced to please his mother despite this fact. "Possibly." Was all he said before he pulled out of his mother's grasp and began walking up the drive again.

 

Amanda stood up and fell into step next to him. "Thank you, Spock. I know this is hard for you, but look on the bright side, maybe you'll even make some friends." She smiled warmly down at him as they walked.

 

"That is highly unprobable, Mother."

 

Amanda rolled her eyes exasperatedly. "How will you know if you don't try?"

 

Spock chose to remain silent and continued his way towards the center. Amanda ceased her questioning with a soft sigh. Spock looked up at the building and took it its blue exterior coated in murals of rainbows and smiling children. There was a large sign above a set of double glass doors that read "Cherry Bloom Childcare Center" in pale pink lettering.

 

Just then a gust of wind swept through the yard. Spock shivered. While it was technically summer, San Francisco weather was quite chilly compared to the dry desert heat of Vulcan where Spock had spent the first 4.7 years of his life.

 

"Oh dear, I forget how cold Earth is for you and your father." Amanda fussed. She reached into Spock's orange overnight bag which she was carrying over her shoulder and pulled out a thick purple knit sweater. "Here, put this on." She said reaching to pull it over his head.

 

Spock took a quick step back and looked dubiously at the sweater. One of his small pointed eyebrows arched towards his hairline in a perfect imitation of his father.

  
"Oh come on," Amanda chuckled "my knitting isn't _that_ bad."

  
"It, however, is far from good." Spock retorted.

  
"Wouldn't you rather be warm? Isn't it illogical to make yourself cold?" Amanda played the logic card and then stared pointedly at her son. As she expected Spock gave a sigh and stepped forward with his arms above his head. She smiled and forced the sweater on over his plain grey short sleeve shirt. She reached out to smooth down his ruffled hair and then took his hand in her's and continued the last steps to the front door of Cherry Bloom.

  
The glass doors slid open with a quiet hiss. They walked in and found themselves standing in a brightly lit waiting room complete with comfy chairs and blue carpeting. Amanda strode up to the front desk where a woman with flaming red hair and freckles was typing away on a padd. Amanda cleared her throat to get the woman's attention and she looked up startled.

  
"Oh! Sorry, I didn't see you come in," she gave Amanda an apologetic smile. "My name's Millie, how can I help you today?"

  
"It's quite alright, Millie. I am here to check in my son, Spock, I called yesterday and..." Spock tuned his mother out while she proceeded to check him in to the center. He examined the waiting room. The walls were papered with hand drawn crayon and marker drawings. There was a collection of rather primitive children's toys in one corner of the room. A hallway was situated to the left of the front door. Spock could dimly hear the excited chatter and bubbly laughter of human children from somewhere nearby. One of the drawings taped to the wall caught his eye. He stepped closer to inspect it. A star ship was crudely scratched onto the paper with crayon. But what captured his attention was the detail in the stars behind the flying ship. They were no figment of a child's imagination but real stars and constellations that could be seen from earth. 40 Eridani A, his home planet's star, was even drawn in the top left corner.

'Home planet' _,_  he considered, was a relative term. Earth had been his home for the last 6.42 months and that fact would not be changing anytime soon. As his father was the Vulcan ambassador to Earth, he would be living in San Francisco for the foreseeable future where his father could carry out his diplomatic duties. Most of the time Spock did not mind living on Earth, it was much colder than Vulcan, but it was also much greener, Spock liked green. But at the moment he was not particularly fond of the idea of spending days in a small building with multiple human children. He was not xenophobic, no, but he did not enjoy the idea of his telepathic shields being constantly breached and his meditation interrupted every day for the next week. 

  
"Spock, honey, it's time for me to go." Amanda's voice broke Spock out of his reverie. She waved him over to where she was standing by the welcome desk. "This is Millie, Spock, she's going to show you to your room where you can put your things and then she'll take you to play with the other children." She gestured to Millie who was now standing in front of the desk holding Spock's bag.

  
"Vulcans do not play."

  
"Of course they don't." Amanda gave a small smile. "I have to be on my way now dear. Will you let me hug you?"

  
"Yes." Spock was occasionally uncomfortable with public displays of affection but he indulged her all the same. Amanda gave him a light squeeze and then she pulled back to look at him.

  
"Normal comm channels will be blocked off for the conference so we won't be able to talk until your father and I return. If there's a problem you can reach me on the emergency frequency. You know the codes."

  
"Understood."

  
Amanda smiled again and turned to leave. When she reached the door she looked back at him. "Goodbye Spock."

  
"Goodbye mother." Amanda stepped forward and the door hissed shut behind her. She was gone.


	2. The Dreaded Playroom of Doom

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Spock gets shown to his room and introduced to the other children at the center.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are like brain food. The more you comment, the more I write. Just knowing that people are reading and enjoying my work makes me want to write more. This is why I'm posting the second chapter of this fic only a few hours after I posted the first. This is also why I stayed up until 2am to finish it.

Spock stood looking at the entryway for 3.57 seconds after his mother exited before turning to the woman called Millie and raising an expectant eyebrow at her. She gave him a toothy smile and then gestured for him to follow her.

“Come with me honey,” she smiled at him in a manner that clearly illustrated that she thought he had the average intelligence level of a domesticated bovine. “I’ll take you to your room.” She said in that overly cheerful tone that adult humans often use when speaking to children. It was immensely irritating. Millie began to walk down the hallway near the door that Spock had previously noticed.

The hall was painted a vibrant yellow and carpeted in powder blue. As Millie led him down it she began to point out various rooms. “That there is the dining room.” She said pointing to the left where a large room full of tables and seating apparatuses for varying ages was situated. “And this is the bathroom. If you need to go, just tell one of the staff and we’ll be happy to take you.” She said as if Spock didn’t know how to use the bathroom by himself.

“I do not need assistance to urinate.” He said disparagingly.

She shot him a placating look. “Of course not, you’re a big boy.”

He looked indignantly up at Millie but dismissed the idea of responding. Obviously this human woman was exceedingly irrational if she could not even tell that his five year old body was by no means ‘big’.  

They kept walking in silence until they reached a row of doors with a myriad of pictures of assorted Terran animals printed on them. “Ok Spock. Here’s your room. See it has the picture of the giraffe on it.” She said bending down and pointing at the image as if he was unable to identify it.

He nodded and stepped across the threshold. The first thing he noticed was that the room was not very large. It was equipped only with a bedside table and a bunk bed. The second thing he noticed was that there was obviously someone else staying in the room already. A neon green suitcase was lying open next to the bedside table which was covered in a menagerie of toiletries, the top bunk had a fuzzy blanket depicting a starship zooming through space hanging over the edge of the railing, and there was a worn out plush ursine with tattered ears sprawled haphazardly on the ground next to the bed. The animal had obviously fallen from the bed and its owner had failed to retrieve it.

Spock sighed. He knew before his arrival at Cherry Bloom that he would have to share a room with another child, however, he did not have to enjoy the experience.

“The bottom bunk is yours.” Millie said dropping his orange bag next to the green suitcase on the floor. “Do you want to unpack before you go play?” She asked him.

“Yes, thank you.” Spock said deciding not to correct her on her assumption that he would be _playing_ anytime in the near future. He retrieved his bag from the floor and unzipped it. His black meditation robe was the first item to be removed and he meticulously hung it on the bunk bed railing. Next he spread his thermal blanket over the prepared bottom bunk of the bed. Finally, he took out his bag of toiletries and placed it on the bedside table next to the other child’s things. He resolved to leave his clothing in his bag and returned it to its original position on the floor.

Once he had done so, he glanced at Millie who was leaning expectantly against the doorway with her freckled arms crossed over her chest. “Done?” She asked.

“I believe so.” Spock said with trepidation. He was reluctant to leave the sanctuary of the dormitory for the chaos of the playroom. He did not know what he would find there but he was certain that it would not be to his liking.

“Goodie!” Millie clapped her hands together and led the way back into the yellow and blue hallway. ‘Goodie’ was not a word Spock was familiar with but he was unwilling to make more conversation with Millie than was absolutely necessary. She walked to the end of the hallway and then turned left. “The other way is the staff rooms. You can’t go that way, ok buddy?”

“I will not intrude.” He agreed.

“Yanno, you talk funny for a kid.”

“I was not attempting to be humorous.” Spock looked up at Millie with large brown eyes and a raised eyebrow. The expression was so unusual to find on a child, especially one of Spock’s age, that she burst out laughing. Spock was now thoroughly confused and took a step away from the woman warily.

“S-sorry sweetheart, you’re just so cute that it’s funny when you make expressions like that.” Millie chuckled. “Come on, the playroom is at the end of the hall.” She pointed to a door with a picture of a human girl jumping over a rope on it.

Spock could certainly hear the children; the sounds of pounding footsteps and animated voices floated down the hall. If 'animated' could be used to describe what they were doing, it was more like violent screaming. When they reached the door he steeled himself for the telepathic onslaught that was sure to follow his entrance into the room.

Millie smiled down at him. “Well I’ve let the staff know that you’re here and they’ll be expecting you. I have to head back to the front desk. Have fun darling.” She turned and walked back the way they had come.

Spock took a deep breath and counted to five before he stepped forward and his presence was sensed by the door’s motion detectors causing it to slide open. As soon as he stepped in the room, all activity stopped. There were 8 children in the room as well as three adults: one man and two women. The room was large and vaguely resembled a Terran gym he had once been inside. The floor was made of rubber and scattered toys were deposited about the area.  

One woman, an older lady with a tight grey bun, marched up to him and smiled kindly, “You must be Spock. Welcome dear.” She turned back to the other children who had quieted down and were now staring at Spock with interest. “Sit in a circle kids, let’s do introductions.” The human children immediately sat cross legged down on the floor in what was more of a crude oval than any sort of circle.

One of the other adults spoke up from where he was standing across the room, “Join the circle bud, we’re all going to go around and introduce ourselves to you.” He and the other two adults sat down in the oval and Spock followed suit.

“I’ll start.” Said a staff member with caramel colored skin and long dark hair braided over one shoulder. “The question is: 'what’s your favorite food'! So… my name is Cami and my favorite food is ice cream.” Cami turned to a small blonde girl seated next to her “Your turn Andrea.”

“My name is Andrea and my favorite food is pizza.” The girl smiled widely and Spock noticed that two of her front teeth were missing.

“My name is Zoey and I like mac and cheese.” The round faced girl next to Andrea giggled. Spock realized that everyone in the circle was required to say their name and favorite item of sustenance.

When the brown haired boy next to Zoey said; “I’m Josh and I like gummy worms.” Spock was startled. He had not known that humans ate worms and he hoped that he wouldn’t be asked to eat them as well.

The girl who was sitting next to Josh was staring shyly at her hands and did not speak once the child next to her finished like the others had. The boy, Josh, elbowed her in the side. “C’mon Elly. Say yur name.” When the girl didn’t move to speak, Josh sighed, “This is Kelly and her favorite food is marshmellies. She's my lil' sissy and she don't like to talk much."

Spock had no idea what marshmellies or sissies were but as Kelly was seated next to him, it was his turn to speak. “My name is Spock. I do not claim to have a favorite form of sustenance. My only stipulation is that it must not contain animal products as I am a vegetarian.”

“Thank you, Spock,” said the older of the two women glancing down at him, “it’s lovely to have you join us. My name is Debby and as many of you know, my favorite food is ants on a log.” Spock had no idea that humans were so fond of insects. It also seemed strange to him that they were capable of digesting the cellulose found in logs. 

The male staff member was seated next to Debby and he held a small boy no more than two in his lap. “My name is Ted and I like to eat mashed potatoes. This is Joey and he likes chocolate milk.” Ted said bouncing Joey lightly on his knee. 

The girls next to Ted and Joey were a pair of identical twins. They had smooth dark skin and tightly curled hair that fell to their shoulders. Spock could only tell them apart because of their outfits. “I’m Talia and that’s Tippi” Said the girl on the right pointing to her sister.

“And we like to eat struhberries.” Spock was quite certain that ‘struhberries’ was not the correct pronunciation but he knew from experience that humans oftentimes got defensive if corrected so he remained silent on the matter.

It was the final child’s turn to say their name. He had been staring at his ankles for the duration of the introduction so when he looked up and said, “My name is Jim. Jim Kirk. And I like to eat popcorn,” Spock got his first look at the boy. He appeared approximately the same age as Spock himself and had piercing azure eyes and golden hair. Spock was sure human women everywhere could be found constantly fawning over the boy.

“Alright, well that’s a wrap everyone. You can go back to playing. Spock, you can go anywhere in the playroom but no leaving it until dinnertime.” Ted said as he stood up with Joey in his arms. Spock did not know where Ted had seen a wrap; he had yet to find it. As Spock stood up to examine the room for said wrap, he noticed the blonde boy, Jim, approach him. The other children had already taken off running to various areas of the room to continue their ‘playing’ and the loud chatter started up again. 

“Are you a Vulcan?” Jim asked when he reached Spock peering at him from under long lashes.   

“Yes.” Spock said in a clipped tone. He was used to humans finding him strange; this boy would be no different.

“No need to be such a grumpy-pants,” Jim laughed “I was only askin’ cuz I never met a Vulcan before.”

“What is a ‘grumpy-pants’?” Spock asked, not knowing if he should he insulted or merely indignant.

Jim laughed again “It’s just like when you’re grumpy, like a nickname kinda.”

“Fascinating.”

“So what’s it like?” Jim queried.

“What is what like?” Spock asked.

“Bein’ a Vulcan. Is it different than bein’ a human?”

Spock was becoming more and more interested in this boy by the minute, instead of attempting to tease him about his eyebrows or his unusual language; he was beginning a conversation with Spock. No human child had ever before done that. “It is. For one, I am accustomed to much warmer temperatures.”

“So that’s why you’re wearing a sweater in the middle of June.”  Jim smiled, not at all disconcerted by Spock’s vocabulary.  

“Affirmative. My mother knitted this garment for me.” Spock told him. Upon hearing these words, Jim seemed to deflate. He looked down at his feet and sighed. “Have I said something to offend you?” Spock asked hoping he had not upset the only child he had ever met whose acquaintance he might enjoy.

“N-no. It’s just that my mom doesn’t do stuff like that for me. She's in Starfleet with my dad and they aren’t around much. Usually I stay with Mrs. Webster down the street. They pay her to take care of me.”

Spock did not understand why Jim’s parents did not bring him with them on their ship, children of officers were allowed to travel with their parents. “Why do you not travel with your parents?”

“They don’t want me." Jim glanced up and Spock was surprised to see tears in his eyes, “My older brother, Sammy, died two years ago. He was hit by an air car walking home from school. Ever since- ever since my mom and dad haven’t stayed around for very long. They think I don’t notice, but I do.” Jim looked down at his feet again.

Spock felt the irrational urge to comfort this human boy that he barely knew. He recalled that humans enjoyed comfort through the sharing of touch. While he was loath to make physical contact with a stranger, he did not want Jim to continue to cry. Spock reached out and placed his hand on Jim’s shoulder. Not knowing what to say, he remained silent. After a moment Jim raised his head again. He put his hand on top of Spock’s and smiled.

Looking back on the moment years later, Spock suspects that  _that_ is where it all began.   


	3. Acidic Children and the Color Purple

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Spock and Jim decide to become friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone for all the lovely comments! I adore reading any sort of feedback. Please keep sending! 
> 
> <3 Elaine

 

Jim gave Spock a watery smile and then dropped his hand and took a step back. “Sorry.”

“There is no reason to apologize.” Spock assured him.

Jim nodded and then gave Spock a cheeky look. “C’mon lets go play!” He grabbed Spock’s hand in his own and made to pull him away. Spock’s mental shields had not been adequately prepared for the contact and he felt an ache of loneliness from Jim before he ripped his hand away, a green blush spreading over his cheeks. He felt a pang of sympathy for the boy whose parents had all but abandoned him.  

Jim looked startled and stared at him in puzzlement. “S-sorry, did I do something wrong?”

“No. It is simply that as a race Vulcans are touch telepaths. I did not want to read your thoughts without your permission.” Spock murmured looking at his sneakers. He hoped that Jim did not find his telepathy daunting.

“Really?! That is SO COOL!” Jim said happily.

Spock’s head shot up to stare at Jim. “You are not intimidated?”

“No…why would I be? That’s really awesome! I wish I could do that.” Spock noticed that Jim seemed to have perked up completely and he congratulated himself on his unintentional cheering up of the boy.    

“I am gratified that you think so.” Spock said with a twitch of his lips.

Jim grinned at him. “Could you show me?” he asked. “Like, what if I think of something and you try to guess it?”

“I am amenable to that.” Spock said. He was intrigued that Jim seemed so interested in something most humans shied away from him. Spock was quickly learning that Jim Kirk was not ‘most humans’. “It would be beneficial if we sat down.”

“OK!” Jim said excitedly. He led the way to a secluded corner of the room behind a set of foam padded support pillars. Jim plopped himself down on the floor and leaned against the wall looking expectantly up at Spock.

Spock folded himself into a sitting position on the floor facing Jim. “I will need to make physical contact with you.” He said matter of factly.

“No problem.” Jim extended his right hand towards Spock. “OK… I’m thinking of something, try and guess what it is!”

“It would be alarming if you were not thinking of anything.” Spock reached out to take Jim’s hand as he began to laugh.

“You’re funny…I didn't think Vulcans could _be_ funny. Mrs. Webster always says not to judge a book by its cover.” Spock could not fathom why one would pass judgment on the cover of a book but he had a sneaking suspicion that it was meant to be a Terran idiom. He slowly weakened his mental shields, closed his eyes, and took Jim’s hand.

The world exploded before his eyes. Spock was suitably surprised; he had never before experienced such a connection with another person. Albeit he had not made purposeful telepathic contact with anyone except his mother, father, and paternal grandmother, but it was still a revelation to encounter such a compatible mind.   Once the shock of first contact wore off, Spock was able to take in Jim’s surface thoughts. Purple, everything was purple.

“You are imagining the color purple, specifically a rather vivid shade of violet.” He said opening his eyes.

Jim’s cyan eyes rounded in a comical impression of a goldfish. “That is the coolest thing ever! Ok, ok, here, try again.”

Spock took Jim’s hand and delved into his mind again. “You are picturing acidic children.”

Jim laughed loudly. “You are so funny! They’re called ‘Sour Patch Kids’, they’re a kind of candy.”

“‘Sour Patch Kids’, I have not previously heard of this confection I am relieved, however, that you are not considering the consumption of small children dipped in bitter substances.” Spock told Jim in all seriousness.

Jim guffawed. “You are the best.” He smiled at Spock and squeezed his hand “Let’s be friends.”

Spock could only blink in a confused sort of way. “I… I have never had a friend before.” He said softly.

Jim looked shocked. “Really? Not ever?”

“I believe I just said that.” Spock looked at the pristine laces of his tennis shoes feeling a sharp twinge of inadequacy.

“So you've never had a playdate or a sleepover? You've never ate lunch at school with someone?”

“No. I have not.” Jim looked absolutely floored at Spock’s statement.

“Never?”

“Never.” Spock began to idly fiddle with the cuff of his blue jeans.

Jim smiled softly at Spock. “It’s OK. I’m gonna go to a new school this year, I’m gonna be in kindergarten,” he looked highly pleased with himself, “but cuz it’s a new school, I don’t have any friends yet either.”

“You do not?” Spock asked.

“Nope.” He paused. “Hey! Yanno what?”

“What?” Spock asked mildly interested. He raised his head and looked at Jim.

“Since we both don’t have friends, we should be each other’s best friend. It’ll be fun! We can have sleepovers and playdates and everything.” Jim frowned when he noticed that Spock was not as excited as he was, “What’s wrong? I mean… we don’t have to be friends if you don’t wanna… I guess…” He said looking disappointed.

“I would like to be your best friend, Jim. But I need you to explain something important to me:” Spock said very stoically, “what, exactly, is a ‘playdate’?" 

Jim gave a snort; he looked so relieved that Spock thought he might start crying again. “It’s when you go to someone else’s house to spend time with ‘em.”

“Interesting.” Spock took a moment to consider the ramifications of Jim and his father being in the same room together. After a moment of deliberation he came to the conclusion that since his father was a trained diplomat, he would certainly have the capacity to handle one rambunctious human child.  

Just then the boys were interrupted by Debby calling for the children to wash their hands and proceed to the mess hall for dinner. Jim stood up and offered his hand to help Spock to his feet.

“Come on, let’s go to dinner, best friend.” He gave Spock a wink and then bounded off towards the playroom door. Spock was not far behind.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comment. Do it.


	4. Seventeen Andorians and a Bear Called Doughnut

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Spock does not appreciate the human game called 'tag' in the slightest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I recently came to the realization that my story title sounds super cheesy if you don't understand the reference. So for those of you who don't know, the title is a quote from William Earnest Henley's poem, "Invictus". It is my favorite poem of all time, look it up! 
> 
> <3 Elaine

 

 

Spock, Jim and the other children were ushered to a group dinner of tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches. It was mostly a silent affair as everyone was hungry. After dinner Ted took Joey and Kelly to get ready for bed because they were significantly younger than the other children, who were all in the age range of five to nine, and they therefore required more sleep.

 

It was then that Cami said something that would haunt Spock for the rest of his life. These three words changed his world and sent a sharp stab of horror into his gut. "Let's play tag!"

 

That was how Spock found himself sequestered in the playroom with six screaming human children and two wildly manic women. Spock prided himself on his Vulcan emotional control, however, in this moment he was terrified. Debby and Cami were chasing the children around the room in the most illogical example of human behavior he had ever witnessed. At first he had tried to be what his mother called 'a good sport' but after being frantically herded around the room for 72.9 seconds he was forced to give into his innate Vulcan survival instincts.

 

He was currently cowering in the corner of a storage closet desperately hoping that no one would come looking for him. 'Tag' was not something Spock ever wanted to participate in again. The old fashioned swinging door of the closet was pushed open and a figure slipped into the dark room. Spock tensed, afraid he had been discovered.

 

"Whew! I was wondering where you went!" Spock relaxed, it was Jim. "Why aren't you playing tag with everyone?"

 

"It is a highly illogical game." Spock said trying to preserve his dignity.

 

"Spock, are you OK?" Jim approached him through the darkness and crouched down in front of him. He peered at him from wide blue eyes. 

 

"I am perfectly adequate." Spock noticed that his voice was shaking.

 

"Are you sure," now Jim sounded worried "you sound like you're gonna start to cry."

 

"Vulcans do not cry." It sounded weak, even to Spock's own ears. He missed his mother terribly in this moment.

 

"It's OK to cry. Everybody does it." Jim put his hand on Spock's shoulder and gave it a squeeze.

 

"I will not cry."

 

"Then what's wrong?" Jim gave his shoulder another squeeze. "I'm your best friend, you can tell me. I promise I won't laugh at you."

 

Spock deliberated for a moment and then said, "This game, 'tag', is very alarming."

 

"You're scared of the game?"

 

"I would not say I was sc-" Jim shot him a pointed look, "...affirmative." He conceded.

 

"Why? It's fun."

 

"Maybe it is fun to a human such as yourself. For me however, it is excessively loud. In addition my ancestors were desert dwelling nomads. It is in my nature to hide when I feel threatened. Vulcan predators are not as easily frightened as their Terran counterparts." Spock said defensively.

 

"Oh. Yeah. I guess in that way it could be kinda scary. I'll stay in here with you if you want."

 

"I would be amenable to that course of action." Spock was grateful to his newfound friend for accepting his fears without judgment.

 

"Budge up." Jim said moving to sit next to Spock against the closet wall. Spock scooted to the left to make room for Jim to sit next to him.

 

"Will the staff members not notice we have disappeared?" Spock asked.

 

"Probably, yeah. But it's OK, they'll come looking for us when it's time to get ready for bed."

 

"If you are positive." Spock acquiesced. He leaned back against the wall.

 

"Spock? Can I ask you something?"

 

"You may."

 

"Why do you live on Earth and not on Vulcan?" Jim questioned.

 

"My father is the Vulcan ambassador to Earth. My mother and I moved with him to San Francisco 6.42 standard months ago." He answered.

 

"Really? That's awesome. So have you like met lots of different species?" Jim asked animatedly.

 

"I have been introduced to the assistant of a Tellarite ambassador, seventeen different Andorians, a Betazoid, and two Caitians."

 

"Seriously?!" Jim said incredulously.

 

"I would not lie to you Jim."

 

"Will you tell me about them?" And that was how an anxiety ridden Cami found them 47 minutes later; with Spock having just finished explaining every detail he recalled surrounding his encounters with seventeen Andorians, two Caitians, the assistant of a Tellarite ambassador, and a Betazoid.

 

Needless to say, she as well as the other staff members (including Millie and the kitchen staff) were suitably frustrated at their disappearance having been forced to spend over half an hour desperately searching for them. Spock and Jim were told to take their bedtime showers, brush their teeth, put their pajamas on, and report to the dormitory hallway. They were not allowed to join the other children for story time. Spock found that this was not necessarily a punishment. Human children's stories were hideously tedious and annoyingly confusing.

 

Upon arrival in the dorm hallway after their ablutions the two boys were greeted by a very irate Ted, Debby, and Cami. Millie had been left in charge of story time with the other five children. Upon hearing this news, Spock felt a pang of sympathy for the others. By the looks of it, so did Jim. Spock was pleased that he was not the only one to find Millie irritating.

 

"Your behavior was unacceptable this evening, boys." Debby said sternly looking down on them from her position in front of the wall of dormitory doors. "You not only left the playroom but you hid from the staff for almost an hour."

 

"We did not!" Jim said defiantly. "You're just all zeo-zeno-zenohpobic!"

 

"Xenophobic." Spock corrected idly.

 

"Whatever," Jim said, "point is, Spock isn't a human boy, he's a vulcan and he was really scared of the game! He was hiding in the closet cuz' he was scared, not cuz' he was tryin' to run away!"

 

"Is this true?" Ted asked from Debby's left.

 

Spock looked at the floor and softly mumbled, "Yes."

 

Debby's expression went from aggravated to aggrieved in a split second. "Oh you poor baby." She said kneeling in front of Spock. "I'm so sorry. We didn't think you would get scared."

 

"It is alright." Spock said still looking at the blue carpeting.

 

"That still doesn't answer the question of why you were in the closet too Jimmy." Cami shot Jim a pointed look.

 

"I was in the closet cuz' Spock's my best friend and I didn't want him to be scared." Jim insolently.

 

"Why didn't you simply tell one of the staff? We could have stopped the game or arranged something else for Spock to do." Said Ted.

 

Jim blushed. "I didn't....I didn't really think of that..."

 

Debby stood up and sighed. "Well we can't exactly punish you for being frightened or helping a friend. But in the future, tell a grown up if you need help. Am I understood?"

 

"Yes ma'am." Jim said.

 

"Affirmative." Spock agreed.

 

Debby gave a second long suffering sigh. "Story time is almost over so it would be best if both you boys just headed off to bed. You're in the same room so there won't be any problems with the other children waking you up when they come in. Ted will tuck you in."  Debby and Cami turned back to walk towards the playroom.

 

Upon hearing her words Jim shot Spock an excited look.

 

"Come on boys." Ted said walking into the room with the giraffe door. "Lights 40 percent." The automated building computer adjusted the lights to his request. "Hop in." He pointed to the bunk bed with a smile.

 

Jim scampered up the ladder and curled up under the starship blanket Spock had noticed when he first arrived at Cherry Bloom. It was then that he remembered the stuffed ursine. He strode to where he had seen it on the floor earlier and picked it up.  "Jim. I believe you have dropped this." He said to the boy.

 

Jim shot bolt upright upon seeing his bear. "Doughnut!" He shouted and jumped down to take the animal from Spock. "Thanks Spock!" He hugged the bear with a contented smile. Then he hugged Spock too for good measure before climbing back up into his bed and snuggling under the blankets.

 

Spock stood rooted in place for a moment, startled at being hugged by a person who wasn't his mother. Then he shook himself out of his reverie and got into his own bed.

 

Ted smiled warmly. "Goodnight boys. Sleep tight." The mechanics of sleeping tightly were lost on Spock but he found that he did not care as he felt his mind begin to drift into a meditative sleep. The last thing he heard was Ted's voice saying, "Lights zero percent," before the darkness took him.

 

**********

 

Spock woke up 4.2 hours later. At first he was not sure what had jolted him into awareness but it became painfully obvious when he heard small whimpers and cries coming from the bed above him. Spock got out of bed and fumbled through the dark until he could find and climb the ladder to Jim's bunk. Jim was still asleep but he was experiencing what Spock believed was referred to as a nightmare.

 

"Jim." He said reaching his small hand out to shake him lightly. "Jim, wake up." Jim came to with a startling jump and looked wildly about the room before his eyes settled on Spock sitting on the end of his bed. "You were having a nightmare."

 

"Yeah." Jim said closing his eyes and leaning tiredly back into his pillows. "I have those a lot."

 

Spock had never before endured a nightmare but he knew that it was not something to be taken lightly. "May I ask what the content of these dreams is?"

 

"They're about Sammy." Jim sighed sadly. "When he di-...when it happened, it just didn't make sense. Yanno? I didn't really get it, that he wasn't gonna ever come back. I miss him sometimes, Spock."

 

Spock could only think of one thing to say. "My elder brother, Sybok is also deceased. I did not know him well but I believe that my father regrets the events surrounding his death every day."

 

Jim looked up at him with compassion. "What happened to him?"

 

"I do not know. My father has never told me, and I have never asked. Sybok was banished from Vulcan and I never saw him again."

 

"That's sad." Jim whispered.

 

"Indeed."  Spock turned to descend the ladder and return to his bed but he was stopped by a hand on his forearm.

 

"Spock..." Jim said, "would...would you stay here... I know it's silly bu-"

 

"Yes." Spock interrupted him. Jim smiled gratefully.

 

"Thanks."

 

"You are welcome, Jim." Spock inserted himself under Jim's blanket between him and the guard rail of the bed. Jim scooted himself closer to Spock and took his hand. He placed it on the pillow between their heads and smiled at him before closing his eyes and immediately slipping into a deep slumber. Spock slowly drifted to sleep watching Jim breathe evenly and thinking about how he had found his first friend in the most unlikely of places.

 

When Ted came back in the morning to wake the boys for breakfast he could not say that he was entirely surprised to find them both in Jim's bunk huddled together like a pair of drowsy puppies.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comment please! Comments make me very, very happy. 
> 
> Happy + Writer = Lots of Updates


	5. First Officer Spock and the Amazing Vulcan Heel Kick

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jim is bullied. Spock handles it like a boss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: Strong language and swearing ahead. Proceed with caution.

 

 

The next four days went by in much the same manner as the first. The children would entertain themselves in the playroom during the day then have nighttime activities such as an age appropriate movie or a storybook read aloud. Occasionally the staff would offer an art project or an educational activity for the children to try, but it was difficult to do that since almost every child was of a different age or intellectual level.

Thankfully, Spock had not been forced to participate in any more human children’s games. He was allowed to remove himself from the playroom and relocate to Millie’s front desk where he could engage himself in quiet activities such as reading or math exercises on his educational padd.

It had become rarer and rarer to find Spock or Jim without the other. For the last three days, whenever Spock would leave the playroom for the quiet of the welcome center, Jim was sure to follow. Millie didn’t mind watching them, and Spock and Jim were usually too absorbed in their activities to pay any attention to her.

Spock had attempted to teach Jim basic algebra skills from his padd. Suffice it to say it had not gone well; Spock had not realized that human children did not begin learning math until their first year of school commenced. Therefore Jim was woefully unprepared for algebra having not even learned rudimentary math skills. While Jim was rather advanced for his age and was able to count quite well, he hadn’t yet mastered the concepts of adding or subtracting. Needless to say they had abandoned Jim’s algebra education after the second day of Jim being dreadfully confused by coefficients, variables, and systems of equations.

 They had moved on to trying to teach Jim how to speak Vulcan. While Vulcan was by no means a simple language, Jim had a strong determination to master the language. Granted he was still quite far away from being even remotely fluent, but, he was making good progress. They were currently seated cross legged on the floor in the corner of the welcome center, Spock facing Jim.

“Dif-tor heh smusma.” Spock enunciated clearly and steadily for Jim’s edification.

“Def taur he smuza.” Jim butchered the phrase.

“No. Dif. Tor. Heh. Smusma.” Spock corrected.

“Dif. Tor. Heh. Smusma.” Jim slowly repeated.

“Correct.” Spock congratulated Jim on his successful pronunciation of the phrase. Jim positively beamed. He leaned back against the wall and gazed at the ceiling.

After a pause he said, “I wanna be a Starship Captain someday, yanno. Like my dad. I gotta know the language my crew members speak if I wanna be a good one though.” He explained.

As a matter of fact Spock had not known this. He was perplexed as to why Jim would want to follow in the footsteps of a man who had essentially forsaken him, but he decided not to question his motives as he was certain it would cause Jim undue distress.

“Would you come with me?” Jim suddenly asked

“‘Come with you’ to what location?” Spock inquired.

“On my starship.” Jim said as if it was obvious. He looked at him with hopeful blue eyes.

Spock could not resist. Something about Jim made him want to give him anything he asked for no matter how unfeasible the demand was. “Of course.”

Jim grinned widely, dimples forming in his small, round cheeks. “Awesome! You can be my first officer. We’ll travel the galaxy! It’ll be so cool! Maybe we’ll even meet _18_ Andorians!” Jim made it sound like being able to meet 18 Andorians would be the pinnacle of his life. Spock admitted to himself that he would not be opposed to joining Jim in the exploration of the galaxy.

“That would be satisfying.”

At that time the front door to their left slid open to reveal a boy and his father coming to check into the center. Both Jim and Spock eyed the newcomer with interest. He had sandy brown hair and dark eyes. He looked older than many of the children at Cherry Bloom, most likely close to twelve.

Millie turned to them from her position behind the counter. “Spock, Jim. It’s almost time for lunch, why don’t you two head over there while I check this young man in.” The boys stood up to make their way to the mess hall. Jim took Spock’s hand and swung it between him happily bouncing down the hallway. Little did they know that their new companion did not take kindly to such displays of affection. 

 

**********

 

Two hours later found all of the children in the playroom engaged in various art projects and board games. Jim was lying on his stomach scribbling furiously with a red marker on a coloring page of a fictitious alien planet while Spock worked next to him on a puzzle of what he believed to be a tree frog in its natural habitat.

Upon the completion of his puzzle Spock stood up to use the restroom. Annoyingly Ted was required to accompany him, as if he would somehow get lost on the short trip down the hall, he might be small and a mere five years old but that did not make him a complete imbecile. However, he knew that it would be of no use to argue so he acquiesced and allowed Ted to escort him to his destination.

Upon his return to the playroom he spotted the new child, who had introduced himself at lunch as Elias, standing menacingly over Jim who had stopped his coloring and was staring up the boy. No one else in the room seemed to notice that Elias’ posture was far from friendly. Spock walked hurriedly across the room but as it was more than 100 feet in length, he therefore did not arrive in time to hear Elias’ statement or Jim’s response. His sensitive Vulcan hearing was however able to discern his next declaration.

“Yeah, that’s him. The alien one.” Spock realized that Elias was referring to himself. “I saw you and him earlier. My daddy has a word for that yanno, you little twerp. You wanna know what it is? You wanna know what you are?” Spock saw Jim nod. “You’re a little faggot. You’re a little faggot bitch. You know what God does to little faggot bitches?” Jim shook his head. “He burns ‘em alive. You’re gonna get burned alive cuz’ youre a little fag.”  

Neither Jim nor the boy hovering over him noticed Spock approaching until he delivered a sharp kick to the back of Elias’ heel. The older boy fell over clutching his foot. While Spock was small he was a Vulcan and was subsequently five times as strong as an average human child of his age.

He glared murderously at Elias. “Your assumptions are woefully outdated and ignorant. Quite possibly you should consult a news website instead of the history database you must have been reviewing. Newspapers offer information from the current stardate as opposed to facts from 200 standard years ago. For more updated information, you should consider extending your educational purview.” Elias groaned and sat up, it was quite apparent that he only understood about half of what Spock had said.

“Oh look, it’s the other little fag.” He sneered.

“On the contrary, both Jim and I are five years old. We know no more of our romantic proclivities than you seem to know of diversity. I am beginning to believe that you are the ‘little bitch’.” Furiously Spock gave a second kick to Elias’ already injured foot, pulled Jim to his feet and marched away.

Unfortunately Cami had witnessed his outburst. Spock was put in what he believed to be called a ‘time out’ and he was informed that his mother would be notified of his atrocious behavior. His dessert privileges were also suspended until further notice. Privately Spock thought that it was worth it to wipe the smug smile of Elias’ face and to defend Jim.

Later that night when he got into the bed he had been sharing every night with his friend since he had discovered Jim had nightmares, Jim asked him a question.

“Spock?”

“Yes, Jim?”

“What’s a faggot?”

“It is an outdated insult; it is a highly offensive name for a homosexual man.”

“So he was calling us gay?” Jim asked referring to Elias.

“Affirmative.”

“Spock?”

“Yes, Jim?”

“Is it bad to be gay?”

Spock’s felt a pang of empathy for his friend when Jim asked this question. “It is not. It is bad to be ignorant, but not to be homosexual.”

“Would it be bad if I was gay? Would you still be my friend?” 

Spock did not think anything about Jim could ever be bad. “It does not matter to me how you choose to identify yourself. I will not stop being your friend.”

“Ok.” Jim said with a small smile. He clutched Doughnut the bear to his chest and allowed himself to drift to sleep. Spock stayed awake staring at ceiling long after Jim’s breath evened out.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not appreciate people like Elias. He is basically the epitome of ignorance and blind hatred. I am not ignorant, nor am I hateful. I am not homophobic. Any strong language used in this chapter was used purely to illustrate Elias' idiocy. It was not meant to offend anyone.
> 
>  
> 
> ALSO: Comment please!


	6. The Return of the Prodigal Son

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys leave Cherry Bloom and go home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For future reference, I changed the boys' birthdays to fit with the story. They are both five instead of Spock being three years older than Jim and Jim's birthday is in May, not January.

 

 

Two nights later found Spock and Jim lying in Spock’s bunk together. Ted had already come to tuck them in and they were technically supposed to be sleeping. To Spock however, technicalities were just that: technicalities, ‘almost rules’ that one could break without finding themselves in serious trouble. The silence in their room was broken only by their breathing and the quiet hum of the building’s ventilation system.   

“Yanno Mrs. Webster’s coming to pick me up tomorrow morning.” Jim mumbled suddenly into Doughnut’s forehead.

“I did not know that.” Spock was startled by this information; he found that he did not want Jim to leave.

“Yeah. She is. Sorry I didn’t tell you… I just… I didn’t want to leave.”

“You do not have to apologize. I find that I too do not wish for you to depart.”

“We’ll still be best friends though, right?”

“Yes.” Spock was reassuring Jim as much as he was himself. He resolved to speak to this ‘Mrs. Webster’ when she came to acquire Jim about securing a way to contact Jim once they were no longer staying at Cherry Bloom together.

Jim was so silent that Spock thought he had fallen asleep. He had just begun to drift to sleep himself when Jim spoke into the darkness, “Spock, will you tell me about Vulcan?”

“What do you wish me to tell you?”

“Anything. Everything.” Jim whispered reverently.  

Spock smiled to himself. “Vulcan is very red and very dry. When I first saw Earth I was amazed by how much water there was. Vulcan has very few trees and much more desert than it has populated areas. It is almost three times as large as Earth but has less than half its population.” Spock paused to take a breath.

“It is significantly hotter than Earth. But it is also quite beautiful. In Shi’Kahr, the capital city, buildings hang down from the cliffs, similar to Terran beehives. The desert is harsh and dangerous but it is also wild and free. Much of it has gone untouched for centuries, which makes it all the more precious. When I was small, my mother and I would walk the 2.4 miles to the market once a week. While Vulcan is a hostile growing environment, we have been able to utilize environmentally controlled glass rooms for cultivation purposes for centuries. Every time we went to the market my mother would ask me if there was anything I wanted. Each time she asked me this question I would tell her to pick up some of my favorite fruit, sash-savas. She would make a juice using the fruit that I was quite partial of. There was an incident shortly after my 4th birthday in which I wandered into the desert in search of a rare reptile-like species that I had read about. I did not find the animal but I did find an entire valley of sash-savas. I recall running down to the trees so quickly that I kicked sand into my own eyes. I ate so many of the fruits that by the time my very worried parents recovered me, I was little more than a bloated stomach and barely conscious. Upon my arrival home I believe I threw up seven times. I have since lost my taste for the fruit.

 “When I was born my father passed his pet and companion, I-Chaya, on to me. I-Chaya is a sehlat. He rather resembles a Terran grizzly bear with the exception of his large teeth and long tail. He is not a young animal but he is not elderly either. He is one of the few things that came with me from Vulcan. He sleeps at the foot of my bed every night but he will have to learn to share if you ever come to visit…” Spock trailed off realizing Jim had fallen asleep.

He carefully slid out from under the blankets leaving Jim and Doughnut curled up in his bed. He then retrieved his meditation robe from the railing of the bunk bed. He removed his pajamas and put the robe on before sitting in a meditative position with his back against the base of the bunk bed. He had obtained an acceptable amount of sleep for the week and it would be more productive to mediate than to sleep at this point. After 3.26 minutes of ordering his mind, Spock allowed himself to fall into a trance for the night. He did not notice when Jim, in his sleep, twined his left hand’s fingers into Spock’s cap of shiny black hair.

 

**********

 

The next morning brought with it a bright June day, but neither Spock nor Jim could fully appreciate it what with the heaviness of impending separation pervading their hearts and minds. It seemed strange to Spock that he had become so attached to Jim in the six days since they had first become acquainted. He had never had a friend before and had never wanted one but now he was desperately hoping he could keep the one he had accidentally found.

Breakfast was a silent affair, both boys afraid to speak for fear of shattering the careful illusion of togetherness they had created. Two hours after breakfast found Spock receiving a teary eyed hug from Jim and returning it with fervor; Mrs. Webster had arrived to take Jim back to her house. She was a portly older woman in her mid-60s. She had a kind face and a warm smile and was very pleased to meet ‘Jimmy’s new friend’ when he introduced himself. He gave Mrs. Webster his family’s contact information so that Jim could comm him if he wanted to. She was delighted to leave ‘such a charming young man’ with her comm number so that his mother might call and introduce herself in order for the boys to have a playdate arranged.

Jim gave Spock a second hug before he was herded out the door by his caretaker. The door slid shut behind them. It was 2.4 seconds before Spock realized that he had never felt more alone in his life.

The following two days were a blur of eat-math-meditate-repeat. He had attempted to sleep but he found that his bed itself seemed lonely without Jim in it, which was completely illogical because inanimate objects did not have feelings. So by the time he got the message from Millie saying that the conference on Tellar Prime had been successfully concluded and his mother would be arriving to pick him up within the hour, he was more than ready to leave Cherry Bloom.

He returned his toiletries, thermal blanket and meditation robe to his orange bag. It was when he began to make his bed that he discovered Doughnut buried under the covers. A note scrawled in messy handwriting was paper clipped to his ear, ‘Keyp him. I wil git him bak when i c u agen.’ It said.

Spock supposed that in all actuality Jim was probably very well written for his age group in comparison to other children, however, it still took him almost ten minutes to figure out what exactly his message said.  

When Amanda arrived to pick Spock up, he was ready with his bag in one hand and Jim’s bear in the other. As soon as she walked through the door a huge smile split her heart shaped face. “I missed you so much baby!” She gushed dropping to her knees and pulling Spock into her arms for a tight hug.

Spock gave her a disgruntled look that had he been human would have been accompanied by a groan of ‘Moooommmm.’

Amanda laughed. “Don’t give me that look mister, it’s been over eight days since I left, I’m allowed to hug you after I haven’t seen you for more than a week.” She said standing up from the ground and brushing off her high waisted khaki capris. Waving to Millie she ushered Spock through the door and out to the parking lot.

It wasn’t until they were in their air car, Spock safely buckled into his booster seat that she noticed Doughnut. “Where did you get that bear, Honey?” She asked adjusting the rearview mirror.

“Jim left it for me to keep until such a time that we are able to see each other again. He also left me his comm number.” Spock said matter of factly.

“And who is Jim dear?” His mother asked buckling her seatbelt.

“My best friend.”

In that moment Spock was quite sure that had they already been on their way home, his mother would have crashed the car in shock. As it was, Amanda’s jaw dropped and she turned completely around in her seat to stare incredulously at her son with wide brown eyes. It was a full twenty seconds before she recovered herself, but when she did it was with a delighted laugh. “Spock! Honey! You. Made. A. Friend.”

“Yes, I believe I already said that.”

“I’m so proud of you darling!” She squealed. “What’s he like? Where does he live? Who are his parents? What does he do for fun?”

The corners of Spock’s eyes crinkled in amusement at his mother’s obvious joy in discovering his new social life. “He is very outgoing. He has told me that he lives in a neighborhood near the Starfleet Academy. He resides there with an older woman named Mrs. Webster, she is his caretaker. His parents are Starfleet officers and they do not take him with them when they venture into space. We are going to join Starfleet together when we are adults. He will be the captain of a starship and I his first officer.”

“That sounds perfect.” She started the car and began the journey to their townhouse. “Will I get to meet him?”

“I gave him your comm number when he left the center. He has also given me his.”

“Excellent. You should tell your father when we get home.” She glanced at him in the rearview mirror. When he remained silent on the matter she gave a sigh. “Spock, he loves you. I know he’s hard on you at times but it’s only because he cares deeply for you and he doesn’t want you to become emotionally imbalanced like Sybok did. He’ll be gratified that you’ve made a friend.”

Spock took her word for it and they continued their journey home. When they arrived Spock greeted I-Chaya and then advanced to his room to unpack his things. He placed Doughnut in the center of his large bed and then proceeded downstairs to welcome his father home from work.

Amanda made Spock’s favorite meal that night: plomeek soup and Pillsbury dinner biscuits. After the meal Spock went to his room to practice algebra. When his mother came in two hours later to inform him that she had taken the liberty of telling his father about Jim and he had been gratified just as she had expected, he relaxed. It was only when the tension left his frame that he even realized he had been carrying it at all.

When Amanda also informed his that she had called Mrs. Webster and set up a playdate for him and Jim at their house next Thursday, he was so relieved that he was able to fall asleep for the first time since Jim had left Cherry Bloom.

Spock began to allow himself to believe that maybe, just maybe, he and Jim would be best friends forever like Jim had promised.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comment! Comments make me a very happy person.


	7. Jim Kirk and the Sabre Toothed Grizzly Bear of Death

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys have their first playdate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to post yesterday, really, I did. But then life happened. Anyway, sorry for the tide-over chapter, I'm working on chapter 8 and it's going to be much longer. Side note: thanks so much to everybody who has left comments, kudos, or subscribed/bookmarked this fic. You guys are what keeps me wanting to write.

 

 

Spock sat quietly at the desk situated in his bedroom. He was attempting to occupy his wayward mind with the study of paleontology. It was finally the Thursday of his playdate with Jim and he could barely quell his anticipation. The week without Jim had been rather boring despite the rather large ‘hiccup’ that had occurred the day after he returned from Cherry Bloom:

 

_Spock had been silently reading in bed on his padd when his mother had stormed furiously into his room and began to yell heatedly at him. “S’chn T’gai Spock! Do you want to explain to me exactly **why** I just received a message from Cherry Bloom Childcare Center notifying me that you physically attacked another child while you were staying there?” Amanda put her hands on her hips and cocked her head in a way that told Spock he would be grounded for the remainder of his existence if his answer was less than satisfactory. “I’m waiting Spock.” She said testily glaring at him from the foot of his bed. _

_Spock chose his words carefully. “The woman who witnessed the altercation was only present for the end of it.” He began. “I had just returned from the restroom to find this ‘other child’, Elias, speaking with Jim. Please understand mother, Elias is most probably at least six years older than both Jim and I are and he is therefore much larger than us. He had witnessed Jim holding my hand earlier that day,” Amanda gave a small smile at this despite her anger, “and had drawn the conclusion that even at our young age, Jim and I were involved in a romantic relationship.” His mother’s brows flew into her hairline upon hearing this. “He was fond of many very outdated Terran beliefs about homosexual people.”_

_“I understand this, Spock, but that doesn’t mean you had to hit him. Violence is not appropriate, nor is it the answer to **any** problems.” She told him sternly. _

_“I realize that, mother. You simply did not allow me to finish. Also, I did not hit him, I kicked him.”_

_“By all means then continue.” She said rolling her eyes._

_“I arrived in time to hear this older boy call Jim ‘a little faggot bitch’ and tell him that he would be burned alive by ‘God’ for his actions.” His mother gasped and her eyes widened. “It was then that I kicked him in the heel and told him what I thought of his actions. I admit, I may have used excessive force, but I do not think that I broke his foot.” Spock finished._

_“Oh. In that case dear I completely approve of you kicking him in the heel.” She said contemptuously. “The nerve of that boy; saying such horrible things to a five year old! I’m not going to punish you for defending your friend, just don’t kick anyone else.”_

_“I will not.” He told her seriously. “Unless someone does something unforgivable to Jim again.” He added._

_She shook her head in exasperation and left his room mumbling under her breath: “Vulcans…”_

Luckily his mother had accepted his explanation and his meeting with Jim had not been cancelled.

At that moment, Spock heard his mother calling up from the bottom of stairs for him to come down. He jumped from his chair and raced down to where she was holding the front door open. Jim was walking up the front steps, when he saw Spock broke into a smile and ran past Amanda to give Spock a crushing hug.

Amanda laughed and waved goodbye to Mrs. Webster who was waiting in her car to make sure Jim got in safely. She waved back and pulled out of the driveway. Her car disappeared around a bend in the road.

“Spock!” Jim said happily. “I missed you!”

“As I did you, Jim.” He responded.

“You two are just too cute!” Amanda declared from where she was closing the front door.

Jim blushed as if he had forgotten she was in the room. “Um…thank you ma’am… I’m Jim.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Jim. I’m Amanda, Spock’s mother.” She said smiling before turning to look at her son. “Dinner is in two hours, you boys can go play but don’t make a mess of yourselves.”

“Yes mother.” Spock said before he led Jim out of the entryway and up the stairs.

“Woah! Your house is huge!” Jim exclaimed.

“Yes, it is.” Spock agreed. “The Vulcan embassy gave us much more room than a family of three actually requires.”

“Yeah, they did. Hey about that: your mom.” He said vaguely

“What about my mother?”

“She’s human.” He stated

Spock’s blood ran cold. He stopped walking and turned to look at Jim on the step below him. “Does that upset you? I apolo-“  

“No!” He interrupted. “I think it’s really cool, you’ve got like two homes! You just never told me, that’s all.”

Spock allowed himself to relax. “I am gratified you think so. Some do not.” They had reached the top of the stairs and Spock began to escort Jim to his bedroom when he realized the boy was no longer behind him. He turned to look at Jim questioningly; he had frozen on the top step and was pointing some ways behind Spock.  

“Sp-Spock, what is that?” He asked cowering. Spock looked to where Jim was pointing and saw what had frightened him. It took all of his self-control not to laugh outright.

“That,” he said “is I-Chaya.” The great bear sized sehlat lumbered happily down the hallway towards Spock, his tailing swinging back and forth. Spock reached out to pat his nose. “Do not be frightened Jim, he will not harm you, he is quite tame.” Spock led I-Chaya back to where Jim was standing and before he could say anything to calm Jim the sehlat licked a long stripe from Jim’s chin to his hairline. Jim spluttered for a moment before bursting into raucous laughter. It was the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

 

**********

 

The next two hours went by in much the same manner. Spock showed Jim his bedroom and returned Doughnut to his rightful owner. Then the pair went outside into the backyard where a large walled in area had been placed some months previously for I-Chaya to romp in. Spock taught Jim how to play fetch with I-Chaya and how to avoid getting his face licked off by the oversized lap dog.

By the time dinner rolled around, both boys were thoroughly hungry and ready for Amanda’s fresh home cooking. They tumbled inside chattering noisily about whether or not sehlats were actually _bigger_ than grizzly bears. Spock left Jim to speak with his mother in the kitchen and pointed to way to a bathroom where the boy could clean himself up for dinner. That was when Sarek arrived home.

He stepped through the old fashioned wooden door and hung his outerwear on the coat rack by the entrance before turning to follow the smell of cooking food into the kitchen. It took him all of two seconds to notice that there was a small human boy covered in sehlat saliva standing in the entryway staring at him. He mustered all of his diplomatic control (human children could be difficult, he knew this from experience) before looking at the small child and saying, “Good evening, you are Jim.” It was not a question. “I am Sarek, Spock is my son. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. Although I believe it would be more of a pleasure for you were you not coated in I-Chaya’s saliva.” He eyed the boy.

Jim blushed a deep scarlet and shuffled his feet. “I was just coming in to wash up. He wouldn’t stop licking me, it’s still nice to meet you though, sir.”

“You may call me Sarek.” Spock’s father said before proceeding into the kitchen to greet his wife. And that, was that. It appeared that as long as I-Chaya approved of Jim, so did Sarek.

 

**********

The rest of the evening went well and when Mrs. Webster came to acquire her charge at 7 o’clock, Spock gave Jim a rather extended hug and saw him and Doughnut out the door. But not before making plans to have Amanda take them to the San Francisco Zoo that weekend.

Later that night Amanda and Sarek were preparing for bed when the latter turned to his wife and said simply, “I like him.” Amanda smiled, knowing _exactly_ what he meant.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comment. lots of comments make me a happy writer.


	8. The Lion and his Freedom Flag

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys go on their trip to the zoo.  
> Warning: Angst ahead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OK so I have been super busy. I had a whole bunch of work to finish and then subsequently had an anxiety attack about said work. But I'm back now. I know I said that this chapter would be long but I decided to cut it in half because I reached a good stopping point. Enjoy!
> 
> <3 Elaine

 

 

Spock had never before traveled to a zoo. On Vulcan, there were no such establishments as the idea of wandering aimlessly observing animals all day was seen as the height of illogic. Earth, however, was in possession of many zoos of all kinds, the San Francisco zoo being one of the largest. This was the institution that Spock, Jim, and Amanda were currently waiting in line to enter.

As soon as Amanda paid for their tickets Jim was zooming off pulling a ruffled Spock behind him by the wrist. Due to his lack of experience in the matter, the zoo was suitably stunning to Spock. To Jim, who had lived in San Francisco all his life, the zoo was more familiar but no less exciting. The habitats that had been created for the animals ranged from the hottest of deserts, to the most humid of forests, to the chilliest of tundras. There were creatures of every size, shape, and color roaming about their enclosures. To Spock, it was easily the most fascinating thing he had ever experienced. He had never seen such a variety of creatures in one place.

The first exhibit the trio visited was a display by the name of “Bear Country”. The exhibit contained two polar bears with fluffy cream colored fur, four grizzly bears bumbling about their cage, a pair of spectacled bears hiding in a synthetic cave, and three black bears whose ears twitched towards the familiar sound of the zoo’s visitors arriving for the day.

Spock was entranced by the beasts, he had never seen such animals before and their mannerisms were extremely interesting. But before he could get a closer look, Jim was already dragging him to the next exhibit. The boy was determined to see every single animal in the zoo before they had to leave for the day.

“C’mon, Spock!” He laughed. “We gotta go look at the reptiles!”

After being shepherded around by Jim for most of the morning, Amanda finally declared that it was time for lunch. She began to unpack the contents of a lunch bag that she had brought for the three of them.

While she busied herself with the removal of apples, sandwiches and other assorted picnic food from her bag, Spock attempted to figure out what on earth the strange creature Jim was so excited about could be. He believed it was known by the name of kooky-bear. But he had no idea what sort of bear might possibly have feathers and sit in a gum tree.

After they finished their picnic lunch, his mother bought the two boys blue raspberry popsicles to eat while they walked. Halfway into his, Spock decided that he was not fond of the confection’s stickiness and coloration. His fingers had turned a vibrant blue and were covered in bits of the melted treat. Jim seemed to have experience with these types of desserts as he had not a drop of the fluid on him or his clothes.

Laughing, Amanda pulled the boys into a bathroom to clean her son up. “Honestly, dear, it’s not so difficult, you just lick it so that it doesn't drip.”

“That would have been useful information to know before you handed me the popsicle, mother.” Spock said scathingly as Amanda wiped the juice off his shirt.

Amanda just smiled cheerfully at him and proceeded to herd her charges back onto the asphalt pathway outside of the restroom. The rest of the afternoon went well with Jim leading them to observe all manner of creatures from anteaters to what Spock now knew to be a bird called a Kookaburra.

It was then that they arrived at the lion cage. A formidable male lion prowled back and forth across his enclosure staring hungrily at a congregation of small children pressed up against the viewing glass. A female staff member with an educational cart was explaining the history of the African Lion to a group of onlookers. Spock and Jim sat down on a nearby bench to listen to her presentation.

They listened avidly while the woman explained the habitat, lifestyle, diet and social behavior of lions. Then she gave the group a startling fact; there were no longer any of the once formidable predators left alive in the wild. 21st century humans had all but destroyed their planet and with it many species of wild animals. 200 years later the only lions left on the planet were those in zoos and nature reserves.

To Spock it seemed to be a tragedy that such a magnificent creature should have been culled by the uncaring humans of the past. That the male whose dinner plate sized paws plodded across the dusty ground of his cage should never be allowed to roam free with those of his kind. It was quite saddening.

Following the lion presentation, Amanda announced it was time to head home as the zoo would be closing soon. She actually had to pick up a whining Jim and carry him to the car while explaining in soothing tones that _‘Yes, they did not get to see every animal, but they could also come back later that week.’_  

She buckled both children into their respective car seats and pulled out of the overcrowded parking lot and onto the highway with Jim chattering excitedly about their next trip to the zoo. Spock nodded at all the right intervals pretending to listen to his friend but he couldn’t seem to get the image of the pacing lion out of his head.

Jim bounced up and down in his borrowed car seat all the way home. He was brimming with excitement at the thought of telling Mrs. Webster what he had learned and seen over the course of the day. At one point he even told Spock that he might ask Mrs. Webster to try to comm his parents in space so he could tell them about his adventures as well.

Upon arriving at Mrs. Webster’s home to drop Jim off, Spock’s mother parked on the street in front of her pale blue townhouse. Jim unbuckled himself and was out of the car running towards the porch as soon as Amanda had undone the child lock.

Spock exited the car to hug Jim goodbye leaving his mother sitting in the car waiting for him to return so that they could continue to their own home. As he walked closer to the house, he became puzzled upon seeing a tearful Mrs. Webster standing on the front porch with a handkerchief pressed to her powdered face. She was quietly sniffling and looking at something -someone- to her left.

That was when he noticed _him_. The man was tall and imposing. He was dressed in the formal grey uniform of a commissioned Starfleet Officer. His hair was a shade of hickory brown and his eyes were a steely grey color. He was standing on the front walkway staring at Jim with a mixture of pity and concern. Jim had frozen where he stood a scant foot before the man and was looking up at him with obvious confusion.

“Mr. Pike?” He asked.

“Jim.” The man-Mr. Pike- said.

“What’re ya doin’ here?” Jim asked him with a toothy grin.

Mr. Pike sighed and gave a tight lipped smile that was really more of a grimace. “Listen Jimmy,” he said kneeling down to look the boy in the eye. “something’s happened.”

Jim recoiled slightly looking worried. “What is it?” He questioned quietly.

“It’s your mom, Jimmy. She-She was on a mission on one of the new colonies. She…well…she and her engineering team were being given a tour of the colony. She was walking and one of the buildings that was being put up nearby suffered a structural anomaly, it collapsed. One of the steel constructions beams fell. It hit her, Jimmy.”

“Is- Is she ok.” Jim asked looking horribly frightened and small. Spock was standing motionless next to his mother’s car picking up every word of the conversation.

Mr. Pike sighed again and his head dropped until he was looking at the cement of the front walkway. “No, Jimmy. She’s not ok. She’s gone, son.” He said glancing at Jim again. Jim had tensed and his eyes were slowly filling with sparkling droplets of moisture. “There was a funeral last week, on board the Kelvin. Your dad sent you this.” Mr. Pike continued, he rummaged through a leather satchel at his side before procuring a folded triangle of royal blue material.

Spock recognized it to be the flag of the United Federation of Planets; its white stars and crest standing in stark contrast to the dark blue background. “He also wanted me to tell you that he won’t be coming back. He said that Mrs. Webster will keep taking care of you. He said that he doesn't want to come back, not now, not ever. I’m sorry, kid.”

Mr. Pike got to his feet seeming oblivious to Jim’s utter shock and pain. He turned on his heel and walked towards an idling air car parked across the street. He got in the passenger side and the car sped away towards the Starfleet headquarters on the other side of town.

Amanda finally realizing that something was not quite right, got out of the car and joined Spock on the sidewalk. ‘What’s goin o-…” She trailed off noticing Spock’s rigid posture, Mrs. Webster’s sniffling and Jim’s tear streaked face.

The latter was standing stock still, alone, in the middle of the walkway. Spock’s mother made to take a step towards him but froze when Jim gave a sob and bent his head in grief.

In that moment, Jim reminded Spock of the lion: strong, brave, and mighty; but nearly destroyed by the humans around it, its habitat stolen and its life uprooted. The lion who had barely scraped by into the 23rd century and was hanging by the tips of its claws to a precipice from which there was no return. And in that moment, Spock imagined those very same humans who had poached, hurt, and stolen from the lion pushing it the very last inch over the edge of the cliff and watching it fall into oblivion.

Jim choked on a strangled sound and his legs wobbled. Spock hurried forward, closing the remaining steps between them and grasped Jim by the shoulders holding him upright and steady. He would not let the lion fall. He _could not_  let the lion fall.  

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comment please, comments feed my soul.


	9. The Most Powerful of Screams is Silence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes the best way to say how you feel is to say nothing at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Super short chapter for you guys. More coming soon, life has been getting in the way of writing, but I promise to try and update tomorrow! Thanks for all the comments you guys have been giving! They've been making writing this story very fun! 
> 
> <3 Elaine

Jim trembled under Spock’s grasp and the Vulcan pulled his shaking friend into a tight hug. “It is alright.” He said simply. The pair stood there, unmoving, for quite a time: Spock holding an openly sobbing Jim while Amanda and Mrs. Webster looked on in sympathetic stillness. It was as tranquil a sight as it was devastating. There were no sounds radiating from the small neighborhood street, it was as if every bird, pet, car, and person had suddenly decided to simultaneously vacate the area never to return.

 Eventually the sky began to darken in the onset of evening and Amanda stepped purposefully towards the two boys. A dog began to bark in the distance, effectively breaking the silent vigil the four had unintentionally been holding for a woman that three of them knew very little of.

“Jim.” Amanda said in a voice that was scarcely more than a whisper. She cleared her throat and continued. “Jim, honey. Would it be good if you came to stay at our house for a little bit? Just until things get better.”

The small boy raised his golden head from where he had rested it on Spock’s shoulder in grief. His eyes locked with Amanda’s in a watery blue eyed stare that nearly broke the human woman’s heart. Jim gazed at Amanda for such an extended period of time that she began to wonder if he had heard her at all. Just as she was about to repeat her question, he gave a barely perceptible nod before returning his face to the crook of Spock’s neck.

She stood in the walkway for an instant before collecting herself and turning away from the children. Spock watched his mother stride up the drive and onto the porch of the blue townhouse to speak to Mrs. Webster. After a moment, the pair opened the front door and continued inside, presumably to gather Jim’s overnight bag. To Spock, the silence seemed almost deafening and he could hardly stand another second of the oppressing quiet.

“Jim.” He said softly. The boy raised his head and looked at Spock with large, sad eyes. “Let us return to the car.” Spock began to guide his friend back into his mother’s air car and helped to fasten his seat belt. After a short few minutes, Amanda returned to the car with the green suitcase Spock had first seen in their shared room at Cherry Bloom. She put it in the passenger seat and turned on the car before pulling away down the street.

The car ride home was eerily silent. Jim had ceased his crying and was now staring directly ahead of him. To Spock, however, he did not look like he was seeing anything at all, much less whatever stood in his line of sight.

It was hard for him to comprehend that such a small person, only five years of age, could contain such volatile and rampant emotion. When he had hugged Jim, he had come into contact with his skin and was therefore able to pick up on some of his surface feelings and thoughts. It was a swirling mass of fear-sadness-anger-what now-betrayal. The horrible truth that his father did not care for him had pushed the already fragile child over the edge. He had gone from merely confused and upset to heartbroken and forsaken.

Jim had lost his entire family in the span of two years: two to unfortunate fatal accidents and one to the vast vortex of space. In that moment, Spock made a decision that he would be Jim’s brother, his best friend, and his care taker. That he would never leave his side like his true family had. He would protect his best friend with his dying breath.

Spock reached across the middle seat and took the hand that was limply hanging at Jim's side. This seemed to startle the boy into awareness and he glanced up at Spock with his cerulean orbs. Spock squeezed the hand he had taken and projected calm and comfort to the boy at his side. Jim blinked owlishly at him before he gave a slight squeeze back. Spock relaxed, getting through this would not be simple nor would it be quick but he had faith that they could. This would not be the end of the world, there would be another day. It would not be easy to return Jim to his former joy and exuberance but he would not give up. With this thought in mind, Spock leaned back against the window and closed his eyes, tired after such a draining day. The car glided smoothly through the air towards their home with Jim and Spock holding hands across the backseat. Amanda, looking in the rear view mirror felt a small smile tug at her lips. It would be OK. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comment please! Comments make me feel happy. Constructive criticism is always welcome!


	10. The Street and the Stars

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jim is helped through his pain and he gets closer with Amanda.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did not edit this, so if you find any mistakes, feel free to tell me :) 
> 
> Thanks!
> 
> <3 Elaine

In the way that most children are, Jim was resilient; he would not let the loss of his parents destroy him. However, as Spock had predicted, it was not simple, nor was it easy, but they did get through it. To Jim, his mother’s death was a tragedy that would linger in his mind until his dying days, but it was not so much a shock now as it was when he first received the news.

His temporary relocation to Spock’s home proved to be highly beneficial for Jim’s healing. Being given the chance to process and recover from such a shock in a place where he felt safe was key. He was not left to cope with a woman who barely knew him; try as she might, Mrs. Webster simply did not understand the way his mind worked and therefore was of no assistance in repairing his shattered happiness.

It also helped that Jim was not left to his own devices on the very same street where he had played as a small boy with a happy family, where he and his mother had witnessed the car accident that killed his brother and fractured his family unit, where he had learned of his mother’s death, where his father had abandoned him. _The street_ was not a place of healing, but of hurt.

After two weeks of intensive I-Chaya playing and ice cream eating, Jim was returned to his home with Mrs. Webster. He was not the same boy Spock had met a month earlier and he suspected that his best friend would never again be that boy.

However, that was ok. In the learning of matters dealing with life and death, it is nearly impossible to remain the same person you were before you learned of them. This is natural, for just as knowledge is power, it is also change.

**********

The following weeks flew by in a blur of warm summer days. Before anyone knew it, it was August, almost time for school to start for Jim. As Spock was schooled at home through the utilization of online classes year round; he did not attend a public day school as Jim did.  

The middle of August arrived with a heat wave the likes of which San Francisco hadn’t seen for nearly twenty years. While many people holed up in air conditioned homes and cafes, the Vulcan embassy was practically buzzing with renewed vigor. The Vulcans, while reluctant to admit their pleasure, were thoroughly enjoying the warm weather.

On the night of August the sixteenth Sarek, Amanda, Spock, and Jim could all be found sitting in the living room of the former. Spock and Jim were sitting calmly (more sprawled in Jim’s case) on the brown sofa located in the center of the room. Sarek sat straight backed and collected in an armchair to their left. Amanda was sitting cross legged on the soft cream carpet that covered the floor of the room facing her family and her son’s best friend.

It was the human woman’s birthday, a celebration which Sarek found entirely illogical but supported in a show of his affection for his wife. The four had partaken of a meal that was purchased by Sarek from a quaint Italian restaurant down the road. After dinner there had been a German chocolate cake decorated with coconut shavings that just happened to be Amanda’s favorite confection known to man. She and Jim had eaten nearly half the dessert by themselves with Sarek only having a small piece and Spock having none due to what Amanda called “a slight allergy” but was really the fact that Vulcans easily became intoxicated through the consumption of chocolate.

Amanda had just opened a beautiful blue cashmere sweater from her husband and a blender from “Spock”. In all actuality, Sarek had acquired the kitchen tool and placed it in its wrappings, Spock had only signed his name on it. Such is the way of children “getting” their parents presents.

Amanda also received two new padd books from her sister, and a small bottle of her favorite lotion from her mother. All in all she was quite pleased with her gifts. That was when a certain small human boy jumped wildly off the sofa in front of her and dashed into the hall.

Jim returned moments later carrying piece of bright purple folded construction paper. He marched up to Amanda and handed her the paper shyly. “I made this for you, Mandy.”

Amanda was touched that Jim had taken the time to create a card for her. His newfound nickname for her was also quite endearing. The woman slowly opened the letter and came face to face with a brightly colored picture of a mass of stars. In one corner was a star messily labeled “Eridanny”. She chuckled at the five year old boy’s misspelling of the word Eridani. In the other corner was a second star labeled “Sol”. She was overcome with a bright smile when she came to the realization that the picture was an accurate representation of the night sky from outer space, it was no child’s failed attempt at capturing the stars.

She reached towards Jim who was nervously waiting by her side to see her reaction to his unexpected gift and pulled him into a hug. “Thank you dear, this is absolutely lovely.” She said. “I’m going to go hang it on the fridge.”

And with that she got up to hang the first piece of child drawn artwork she had ever received on her refrigerator. Oddly enough, it made her feel like more of a mother, having a picture on her fridge seemed like a maternal rite of passage.

Spock and Jim had since departed to Spock’s room where Jim was spending the night. When Amanda returned to the living room, she was greeted by her husband giving her a rare smile. “Happy birthday, my wife.” He said simply, reaching out to touch two of his fingers with her own.

**********

Meanwhile Spock and Jim were settling into Spock’s bed. The had both brushed their teeth and changed into their pajams. The lights had been turned off and Doughnut was cuddled in between the boys.

 “Jim,” After a moment, Spock’s voice broke through the quiet darkness. “when we were staying at Chery Bloom, I encountered a picture similar to the one you just gifted to my mother hanging in the welcome center. Did you draw that as well?”

“Yeah, I did.” Jim said from his position to Spock’s left. “Did you like it?” He asked self-consciously.

“I thought it was beautiful.” Spock reassured. He could almost feel Jim’s bright smile at his words.

“I thought so too.” He said before drifting into a deep slumber. It was almost fifteen minutes before Spock realized that Jim wasn’t talking about the picture at all.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comment please. Comments are my soul food :)


	11. Ruthless Klingon Babies and the Intricacies of "Swear Words"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> School starts for Jim and he learns that making friends isn't always as easy as it looks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... sorry for the lack of posting. I spent my weekend curled up in bed eating copious amounts of nutella and tearfully re-watching TOS. I'm not going to dedicate this chapter to Leonard Nimoy because the theme of it doesn't seem right to be a dedication to his life. So therefore I'm dedicating the whole story to him. As someone who championed the rights of others and took pride in his ability to find beauty where others saw none, he is the inspiration for the way I write Spock. I would like to send good thoughts to his family and his friends. The end of an era is upon us, but it was one damn successful era.

As August transitioned into September, the heat wave dissipated (much to Spock’s regret) and the weather began to cool in preparation for the coming fall. On September the 2nd, Jim began his first day on school. That morning the golden haired boy marched purposefully out of his caretaker’s pale blue townhouse to catch his first ever yellow school bus. This bus would ferry him the twelve miles to his new school, Cochrane Elementary School, so named for the 21st century physicist who invented the warp drive and induced the human race’s first contact with an alien species: the Vulcans.

Cochrane Elementary was the school Mrs. Webster had attended as a child. Therefore, even though Jim was not assigned to that elementary school based on the location of his residence, he was accepted because of Mrs. Webster’s alumni status. Privately Spock thought it was quite ridiculous to call oneself an elementary school alumna, but he made no comment on the matter.

Because of the school’s location far from Jim’s house, Amanda and Mrs. Webster had arranged for Jim to walk to the Vulcan embassy four blocks from school on days in which Mrs. Webster was not able to pick her ward up at the scheduled release time of 2:15.  The elderly lady volunteered at a local food pantry on weekdays and was occasionally unable to retrieve Jim from school.

So it was later that September afternoon when Spock met one furious Jim Kirk stomping up the front steps of his home, lime green backpack dragging behind him and disheveled mop of hair strewn across his forehead. Obviously his first day of kindergarten had not gone as smoothly as he had hoped.

“Ugh!” Jim yelled throwing his bag onto the topmost of the stone steps and flopping down with a huff.

Spock paused before he too took a seat next to his friend. “Is something the matter?” He asked calmly.

“Kindergarten is overrated.” Jim sighed exaggeratedly.

“Please elaborate.”

“The other kids are just…they’re just _sooooo_ dumb.” Jim complained.

Spock felt his lips twitch in exasperation, apparently Jim had not previously realized that teaching yourself to read and write (albeit rather badly) before even commencing your first year of formal schooling was not average behavior for a young human boy.

 “I mean, youre not dumb.” He continued gesturing to Spock.

“I thank you for the compliment.” Spock paused. “Jim, I am half Vulcan.”

“I know….” Jim looked quizzically at him.

“I mean to say, that I do not have the average intelligence of a five year old human. In fact, I tested at above average, even among my Vulcan peers. My intelligence is not relevant to that of your classmates.”

“I know that, silly. But I’m still smarter than those kids. Plus Ms. K, my teacher talks to me like I’m a puppy or something, grown-ups are so annoying sometimes.”

“While it is unfortunate that your teacher speaks to you as she would a domesticated canine, I believe you are also not of average intelligence. You have displayed interests in activities such as my algebra work and learning the Vulcan language, things that are by no means common pastimes for children our age. Maybe it is not them who are unintelligent, but you who is overly intelligent.”  Spock explained.

Jim made a small sound in the back of his throat as if he was pondering the answer to a complex equation. “Maybe you’re right.” And with that, he jumped up from his perch on the stairs with a grin. “Lets go see I-Chaya.” He laughed merrily before darting through the front door and into Spock’s house. Their conversation appeared to be over and Spock followed his best friend into his home to interact with his sehlat.

Jim’s mood had significantly improved with their talk and by the time Mrs. Webster came to retrieve him an hour and a half later, he was no longer sulking. True to his conclusions, within the week Jim was transferred into Mrs. Harley’s first grade class. This, however, might not have been for the best.

 

**********

 

It is a well-known fact among the galaxy’s inhabitants that human children are cruel. Not in the same way Vulcan children are: cold, logical, and unwavering in their ideals of conformity. And certainly not in the way of Klingon children: bloodthirsty and brutal as they could be. But in a manner of speaking, human children could be what Spock once heard his mother refer to as “little shits”.

They could be ruthless in their intense ability to pick out any perceived faults in the characters of other children and mercilessly capitalize on the misfortune of other kids through the popular ‘game’ of bullying. Why they felt the need to do this, Spock would never understand.

So when a month into Jim’s schooling career, he arrived tearful and ruddy faced at Spock’s house after school. The Vulcan boy was not surprised, he had been expecting this outcome eventually. Smarter than most of the children in his class and a full year younger than them to boot was not a good mix in of itself, but when you threw in a dead brother and mother as well as a father who abandoned you and a Vulcan best friend, you were in deep trouble.

The children in Mrs. Harley’s class were having a field day picking on their newest addition. Everything from his home situation to the color of his shirt that day were fair game and Jim was not enjoying it at all.

Spock was not having any of it. He was not in the slightest amused by the purposeful demeaning of another creature and thought the other human children in Jim’s class were most probably the unfortunate byproducts of attempts to breed with feral animals. He told this to Jim before giving him a hug and inviting him to sleep over as it was a Friday night.

At dinner that night Amanda asked Jim why he looked so downtrodden. His response made her face contort into an expression of outrage and Sarek’s eyebrows to simultaneously rise far into his bangs. Hearing of the other children’s atrocious behavior angered Amanda, but not as much as it did Spock.

He could admit he was angry, his Jim was not to be bullied in such a way. So when Jim began to speak of how he was discouraged because none of the other children wanted to be his friend, Spock said the only thing that came to mind. He had one heard his mother scream it into the comm on a very heated tirade on the subject of cross-species integration.

In retrospect, his choice of words could have been better planned; however, he was not at all pleased with these so called “human children”. Looking back on it, Spock had no regrets, even when his mother sent Spock immediately to his room for a two hour “time out” while letting Jim watch a movie with her. I his mind, such strong language was not inappropriate in this situation.

Accordingly, all conversation at the dinner table halted and all eyes turned to him when he proclaimed in a rather loud and irritated tone of voice that Jim should just “Fuck them!” Amanda’s eyes grew impossibly wide and Sarek dropped his fork with a metallic clatter.

Spock felt justified though, when Jim burst into raucous laughter; all was well.  

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comment please!


	12. Black Cats, Starship Captains, and the Nature of Halloween

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jim makes a shocking discovery.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! Sorry its been so long since I've updated! I got distracted by Netflix. 
> 
> This chapter is dedicated to my best friend because even when I have rough times or act like I put one too many crazy flakes in my breakfast cereal, she is always there for me. We are at almost 12 years of being friends and still going strong. She's my Spock. Essie, thanks for being the best friend I could have ever asked for. 
> 
> <3 Elaine

 

 

If there was one thing that Spock was certain he would never understand fully, that one thing was the Terran holiday known as Halloween. He failed to grasp why parents encouraged their children to wear hideously ridiculous costumes and parade about their neighborhoods asking strangers for candy. Spock himself was not allowed to participate in this so called activity of “Trick-Or-Treating” due to the fact that as a Vulcan he did not metabolize sweets very well, especially chocolate.

His human best friend, however, had been constantly chattering on about the holiday for the better part of the last two weeks. He had animatedly described his costume to Spock no less than 27 times. Jim would be trick-or-treating as a starship captain, which, in all actuality, was not a very large surprise. Despite Jim’s repetitiveness, the Vulcan boy did not pass up his chance to witness his friend’s happiness. Such a feeling seemed to be a rarity for Jim. At five years of age, it seemed to Spock that everything that could have gone awry in his life had.

He would not discredit the joy of the small boy who had quickly and unexpectedly become one of the most important people in his life. Spock would protect Jim with every fiber of his being. His mother had once told him about how she specifically loved the acceptance small children were prone to. When you were young, there were none of the awkward talks or shy encounters that adults usually insisted on preforming when building relationships. It was all very simple, you could up and decide to be best friends with someone who you had known for less than ten minutes and remain friends for the rest of your lives. Such was the nature of children: resilient, determined, and possessing the impressive ability to see each other for who they are

Jim had attempted to get Spock to come with Mrs. Webster and himself on the night of the 31st but Spock had vehemently declined the offer, citing his lack of ability to consume many of the confections offered. In truth, the idea of being surrounded with excitable children on sugar highs was not something that sounded in the least bit enjoyable for him. So Jim and is caretaker went off on their own while Spock stayed home with his mother to pass out candy to visitors, not that the Vulcan embassy got many.

Amanda had decided that even if they weren’t going to go trick-or-treating, Spock and her should still participate in the holiday; which was how Spock found himself sulking in a chair by the front door dressed as the black cat to Amanda’s witch while they handed candy to small children. He was mortifyingly dressed in a black long sleeve shirt and pants as well as a tail. His mother had painted whiskers on his cheeks and was going to give him a cat ear headband before she decided that his actual ears were already pointed enough.  

By 9 o’clock in the evening Spock was longing for his father’s early return from his diplomatic conference on Vulcan, if only to berate his mother for dressing their only child up as a small feline. They had just run out of candy and Amanda was busy locking the front door and turning off the porch lights. It was then that the pair received a call on the house wide comm system.

“Computer: answer call.” Amanda said from where she was standing in the entryway. The household computer picked up the comm call and put it on speaker phone so that Amanda could respond. “Hello, this is Amanda Grayson.” She said loudly.

“Mandy?” Came a small, timid voice. Spock immediately perked up from his sulk as he recognized the voice to belong to Jim.

“Jim, honey?” Amanda entered the room with Spock looking quizzically at the comm unit on the wall. “Is that you?”

“Y-yes…” Jim answered. Spock could hear a sort sob on the other end of the line.

“Are you ok sweetie?” His mother asked worriedly.

“N-not r-really.” He sniffled.

“What’s wrong?”

“I n-need h-help.” He stuttered.

“With what? Are you ok?” Amanda asked getting more and more concerned. Spock watched as a deep frown marred her usually warm face.

“I’m scared.” Jim said not answering her question. “I don’t k-know what to d-do.” He sobbed.

“Can you tell me what’s wrong, Jim?” She said in a calm, placating tone of voice.

“Sh-she won’t get up.” His voice became nearly inaudible. “I d-don’t know why.”  

“Who-who won’t get up?” Amanda asked beginning to get very concerned.

“She won’t get up. She won’t get up. She…won’t…get…up. I just don’t know what’s wrong. I’m scared!” Jim began to hysterically sob and Amanda’s question went unanswered again.

“Jim, I need you to stay ca-” Spock heard the low dial tone interrupt his mother. Jim had hung up. Amanda turned frantically to her son. “Spock, honey, I’m going over there. You are to stay here.”

Stay here? Spock was not going to remain in his home while his best friend was in yet another crisis. “Mother I-”  But Amanda interrupted him.

“No! Spock, you are staying right here. Do you understand me?” Her tone became harsh and demanding as she glared down at her son.

“Yes, mother.” Spock aquiesqued.

“Good.” Amanda marched to the door and grabbed her coat and car keys, not bothering to remove her witch’s costume. “Lock all the doors. Don’t you let anyone in who is not me or your father. Got it?”

“Yes.”

“Call the police if anyone tries to come in.” She said as she opened the front door and rushed out into the cold October air.

“Understood.”  Spock said to the closed door. He slowly padded forward in his socked feet and reached up to twist the lock to the door. He punched in the security code and every door and window instantly locked and became armed against intruders. He sat down in the small wooden chair that had been placed by the door earlier that evening for the purpose of giving away candy. He waited.

**********

It was almost 2 in the morning before Spock heard his mother’s car pulling into the driveway. He was roused from a light doze in his stiff chair by the sound of the engine coming to a stop in the driveway. Her headlights briefly illuminated the entryway before the car turned off and voices arose. Spock rushed to unlock the house and he yanked the door open to see his mother carrying what appeared to be a very tired human boy, a worn out stuffed bear and a lime green suitcase up the front steps. Spock knew every one of those things and eagerly held the door open for his mother to come inside.

“Hello dear.” She whispered to her son. Jim blinked slowly down at Spock, the Vulcan boy noticed that his eyes were rimmed in a vibrant shade of red and his nose appeared to have been rubbed raw.

“Hello mother. Hello Jim.” He looked curiously up at his best friend. It was then that Jim pushed against Amanda in an effort to be let down. The moment he was on the ground he rushed to Spock and tackled him in a hug that if Spock had been a human, would surely have knocked him to the floor. He wrapped his arms around his best friend and gave his mother a questioning look. She mothed silently over Jim’s back the phrase ‘We’ll talk.’ before walking up the stairs presumably to ready a space for Jim, who appeared to be staying the night, to slumber.

“Come, Jim.” He said leading the obviously exhausted boy up the stairs and into his bedroom to sleep. He decided not to ask his best friend any of the questions burning at the front of his mind, and instead, let him have some much needed rest.

Amanda put clean sheets on Spock’s bed and helped to tuck the small human in before gesturing for Spock to follow her as soon as he had drifted off. In the dimly lit hallway outside of Spock’s bedroom, she leaned against the wall before sliding down it to rest on her heels. Amanda put her head in her hands before giving a long and despairing sigh and raising her eyes to look at her son.   

“She’d dead, Spock. Mrs. Webster.” Spock felt the bottom of his stomach drop away. “Heart attack, natural causes. She was old and not in the best shape. She put Jim to bed after trick-or-treating, went downstairs, turned on the TV and didn’t get up. Jim came downstairs to get a glass of water and found her.” Amanda gave a deep sigh. “It’s not right. What did such a sweet boy every do to deserve such bullshit.” She swore angrily. Spock whole heartedly agreed.

“What is going to happen to Jim?” He asked.

“I don’t know baby.” She said sadly.

They talked for a few more minutes before saying goodnight to each other. Spock went back into his darkened bedroom and slipped into his bed next to his sleeping friend. Jim was on his side with back to him and Spock couldn’t help cuddling up behind him and wrapping an arm around his waist.

He stayed up until almost dawn thinking about the fact that in such a short time span Jim had lost his entire family and now his caretaker too. He had no place to live and no one to go to. It was in the early hours of the morning when he resolved to speak to his mother about having Jim live with them. He would not leave Jim like everyone else seemed so prone to doing.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comment please!
> 
> Also, this story has not been edited because I am tired, so please, if you find any mistakes or grammar errors, tell me!


	13. Amanda Grayson and the Mysterious Phone Calls

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Angst ahead.  
> The aftermath of Mrs. Webster's unfortunate demise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Time has been flying for me lately. I honestly have no idea where on earth my Tuesday went. I think it ran away. So, sorry for not updating sooner but here is your chapter!

 

Upon realizing that his child had no place to live, George Kirk (AKA “the best parent _ever_ ”-or so he thought), was dropped off at a nearby star base and shuttled back to Earth to make arrangements. At first Jim was overjoyed, he believed that his father would be taking a ground posting and staying with him until further notice. That, however, was not the case. Two days after his arrival on Earth, George Kirk met with social services. He was abandoning his only surviving son to the horrors of the foster system.

 

**********

_As it turned out, George had never actually wanted kids at all. When he had originally married Winona, they had discussed not having any children. It was only after a good four years of lonesome space service that she badgered George into having kids. She said he would love them, and he did._

_When George Samuel Kirk, better known as Sam, was born, he was overjoyed. There’s something special about looking into the eyes of a newborn child, it’s like a bond is created that can never be severed._

_Four years after his first son was brought into the world, he had a second. For three more years after that, George Kirk was a good father. He loved his sons, especially his firstborn. He would play tag, ball, and hide-and-go-seek with the pair. He taught them how to read and recognize letters and numbers. But perfection never lasts._

_On April 13, 2236 George Samuel Kirk was killed in a hit and run car accident crossing the street in front of his family’s home. That spring had been an unusually rainy one and it had been pouring buckets that day. The driver behind the wheel most probably didn’t even see the small boy until it was too late. Winona Kirk had been rushing out to the sidewalk to bring her son an umbrella, not that it would have helped at that point, Sam was already soaked through when it happened. She saw the whole thing._

_George was also inside; he had just picked his younger son, three year old Jim, up from the local preschool and was proceeding to put him down for his daily nap. He heard the screech of tires but figured that it was a car skidding on the wet road. It would have been better is Winona had screamed, but she didn’t. It was an hour later when he went to look for his wife, who was not in the house, that he discovered what had happened._

 

 

_She was standing in the middle of the front lawn, drenched in rain and dripping with a bright purple umbrella clutched in her fist. Winona was staring into the middle of the road where the lifeless body of her son was crumpled in a heap. That was the end of George Kirk’s parenting career._

_Winona was never the same again. She had frozen in shock at the one moment when her baby had needed her most. Because she stood in the middle of the yard paralyzed for over an hour, Sam had died of his injuries when he probably could have been saved if she had possessed the presence of mind to call emergency services. She would never forgive herself, and she would never forget. Six months later she would be diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder and her husband would take her into space hoping to relieve her symptoms with a drastic change of scenery. The couple left their young son with a neighbor and payed her a healthy sum of money each month to watch over him while they were gone. Winona always meant to come back for him, but she never did._

 

_It was two years later when she would be crushed by a falling steel beam. George Kirk would never again come to the place he had once called home. Upon hearing of the death of the neighbor he had left to care for his son, he subsequently put the house he had bought with his wife ten years earlier and his young son “on the market”._

 

 

_**********_

 

Jim had been staying with Spock and his family since “the incident”. After the initial shock and sorrow, he had made a remarkable turnabout and become his usual cheerful self. This was of course, before he learned of his father’s plans for him. Amanda had become quite fond of the kind hearted boy so when she heard the news, she was suitably enraged. Sarek, had also taken a liking to the small human (not that he would ever admit it), and was not pleased upon learning of George Kirk’s horrid parenting.

 

Spock, who had been formulating a scheme to get Jim to at their house ever since “the incident”, was quite satisfied with his parent’s reactions. He had spoken with Jim about the idea far before the entire debacle with his father had even been hinted at and Jim had been very enthusiastic, but they hadn’t talked about it since George had dropped his metaphorical bombshell. He had planned to bring up the subject with his parents immediately after finding out that Jim was scheduled to be placed into foster care, but there was no time. Sarek seemed to have tripled his workload and was constantly at meetings. Amanda had secluded herself in her office and was making so many phone calls that Spock was sure she had just single handedly started her own telemarketing campaign. But it wasn’t until the night before Jim was supposed to leave that the four were finally all together having a sit down dinner. It was at this point that Spock began to doubt the veracity and viability of his plan; could his parents pull something like this off on such short notice?

 

So when his mother broke the silence before Spock could even open his mouth and said, “Jim, honey, would you like to come live with us?” Spock was appropriately surprised.

 

Jim who had been quietly munching on his helping of broccoli snapped his head up so fast that Spock was worried he had given himself whiplash. He fixed Amanda with a bright blue gaze and said, “What…what do you mean?”

 

“I mean, sweetie, Sarek and I have been working our tails off to be deemed legal foster parents, the new system is very strict and we had to pull almost every string he's got. So we got through and we wanted to know if you would come and live with us. Does that sound ok?” Spock had literally no idea when his parents had grown tails or why his mother was pulling strings when there were much more engaging activities to participate in, but he found he did not care when everything he had been hoping for had just suddenly and effortlessly slid into place.

 

Jim’s mouth fell upon in spectacular impression of a river salmon and his broccoli slid out of his hand and onto the floor. I-Chaya who had been waiting patiently at his feet for just such an occurrence eagerly gobbled it up.  “You mean it?” He asked in a very small voice.

 

“Yes, we do.” Sarek said pointedly, raising his dark eyes to look at Jim.

 

It was at that moment that Spock realized that despite the fact that the two boys spent almost every day talking in person or comming each other, he had never truly seen Jim Kirk smile because the one he gave Spock’s parents then could be described as nothing short of stunning. “Ok.” He said simply. 

 

Amanda smiled back and stood up from her seat to hug Jim. “Welcome to the family Jim.” Spock could not hold back his small smile but his father did not blame him for it, he merely gave his son a nod of his head accompanied by a small twitch of his lips from across the table. Everything was going to be alright.  

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, for the age difference between Sam and Jim, I am using the birthday for Sam that was mentioned in the third TOS DC Comics special.  
> Also, please comment. They keep me writing.


	14. Jim Kirk and the First Grade Class from Hell

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jim has some problems with bullies at school as he adjusts to living with Spock and his parents.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TRIGGER WARNING: THE FOLLOWING CHAPTER CONTAINS DESCRIPTIONS OF PHYSICAL AND VERBAL BULLYING OF A CHILD. PLEASE DO NOT READ THIS IF IT COULD TRIGGER YOU. 
> 
> OK. So I really have no excuse as to why it took me so long to update. I would say that it was because I'm working on another story but really I just started that last night so I can't use it as a reason. Really it was just a combination of writer's block and what happens when you find The Big Bang Theory on DVD at the library. So, I apologize for taking so long to post again. Here is your new chapter:

 

 

It was a strange few weeks for all of the members of Amanda’s household. Sarek’s diplomatic ability had gained them the right to foster Jim in their home. So it was with much glee that Amanda decorated the room adjoining to Spock’s as she wished her own son would have let her; the white walls were repainted a pale blue and Jim helped her to fasten glow in the dark stars to the ceiling above the twin bed that they had retrieved from the late Mrs. Webster’s townhouse.

Overall, Jim was making himself quite comfortable in his new home. And if he rarely slept in his own bed, preferring to share Spock’s in the room next door, well, Amanda and Sarek need never know. It was a week after he officially moved into the Greyson home that he returned to school. He had attempted to get Amanda to allow him to be homeschooled with Spock but she wanted him to make friends more than her socially inept son. He was not amused.

The middle of November brought with it winter winds and fuzzy sweaters. And with the chill came the inevitable growing out of I-Chaya’s coat. The large sehlat now resembled a cross between a cotton swab and a sabre tooth tiger. Privately, Spock found it quite adorable. Jim, however, couldn’t decide if it was cute or terrifying.

Each day saw the small boy trudging back to his new home from first grade with the look of a puppy that had been left out in the rain and then kicked a couple of times for good measure. The other children in his class found it immensely satisfying to be able to mercilessly tease him. At first, Jim had taken it in stride; he didn’t tell anyone in the family and the only reason Spock himself was aware of the problem was due to the fact that every night Jim snuck into his bed at precisely 11:42 pm and consequently made physical contact with him. The contact enabled him to garner an understanding of what troubles the boy was facing in his daily life. While Spock’s touch telepathy at age five was by no means refined or advanced, it got the job done.

The problem came to a head one rainy afternoon when Spock heard an ear splitting shriek echo from the entryway from where he was situated in his room practicing his remedial biology. He immediately hurried downstairs to see what had upset his mother; she had never before made such an alarming noise in his presence.

When he arrived at the front door he was surprised to find Amanda hugging the life out of a sopping wet Jim Kirk. When his mother pulled back, Spock realized the reason for he scream and subsequent motherly reaction. Jim’s face and arms were mottled with bruises and scrapes in patterns that suggested he had been repeatedly attacked by a wild animal. Immediately Spock came to the conclusion that it the perpetrator was none other than a pack of the most bloodthirsty animals he had ever had the misfortune of coming across: human first graders.

It was with much hugging and badgering that Amanda finally got the full story out of Jim. He had been walking home with his raincoat and umbrella when a group of five older kids had cornered and attacked him. They had beat him up and stolen his coat and umbrella. He had been forced to walk all the way home sore, cold and wet. Amanda was very cross.

“The Incident” as it would later be come to be known as was the last straw in Amanda’s basket. She was done with Jim Kirk getting the life stomped out of him by the universe. She was not going to sit around while one more thing hurt her little Jim (yes, he was now “hers”). She immediately talked to her husband about the problems Jim was facing at school and they decided to keep Jim home for the rest of the week while they worked on a solution.

The following Sunday she took the small human boy out to buy a brand new school uniform. Sarek had once again pulled his magical strings and Jim Kirk was now a proudly enrolled first grader at Warren Prepatory Academy where his intelligence would not only be valued but celebrated. Jim was overjoyed to be leaving behind Cochrane Elementary and the first grade class from hell.

Privately, Spock thought it was for the best that the five children who had harmed Jim never crossed his path. If they did, well, no one would blame him if he retaliated in kind.

**********

While November is a lovely month in many respects, the fact that it is also flu season was not one of them. Unfortunately Jim came down with a bad case of the stomach flu towards the end of the month. Amanda kept him home from school and let him stay in bed all day watching movies. When she came in to check on him early the next morning she shouldn’t have really been surprised to find Spock curled up next to him in bed. It was quite adorable for about ten minutes before she had to spend an hour washing vomit out of Jim’s hair because Spock had woken up and puked on him. She soon discovered that two sick children were infinitely worse than one.

Bringing Jim Kirk into her home was akin to becoming a mother all over again. It was difficult at times, and joyous at others. Either way she wouldn’t trade it for the federation itself. She knew that it wouldn’t always be easy having two boys the same age in the house, but she would make do. Who knows, maybe she would go on a five year vacation and leave Sarek to handle the boys when they hit puberty.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comment please!!!!


	15. Yams and the Downfall of Amanda Grayson

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Graysons prepare for a holiday meal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that I haven't been updating much! I've been working a lot. So here's a short chapter before I start making some time jumps in the plot.

 

Amanda Grayson had never been one for what her best friend in high school fondly referred to as ‘half-assery’. She was not the kind of person to back out of something halfway through. Her two doctorates could firmly attest to that, as could her extensive work on the Universal Translator project. So when her two boys finally recovered from their episode of the stomach flu after a few days and the first thing Jim said was that he was so hungry he could eat an entire Thanksgiving dinner by himself, she knew what she had to do.

Amanda had only very rarely celebrated Thanksgiving as a child due to the fact that it was such an antiquated and selective holiday. She was never one for national celebrations when there was still a whole universe to explore. Upon leaving home for university, holidays were relegated to the metaphorical box in her mind labeled ‘childhood memories’. Amanda was a busy woman; holidays were second to the wonders of the galaxy. When she married Sarek and moved to Vulcan, she stopped celebrating most holidays entirely. The only exception was that every year she held a birthday party for Spock.

But now that she was faced with a child who couldn’t remember the last time he had a real sit down dinner with his own family, she was determined to create the best Thanksgiving meal Jim could possibly imagine. The young boy was still finding his place in her family and she needed to make sure that he knew that they wouldn’t be abandoning him like his father had.

She went out to a specialty store in the heart of San Francisco that exclusively sold groceries. She was able to acquire all of the necessary ingredients to create a Thanksgiving dinner akin to the few she had experienced as a child. Which, not coincidently, was how Spock and Jim found themselves standing on step stools in front of the kitchen counter. Jim was busy washing yams for Amanda to peel while Spock was concentrating on mixing the correct ratios of ingredients to create a pumpkin pie.

The trio was working silently side by side while Amanda’s so-called ‘cooking music’ played in the background. After a good 15 minutes of yam washing, Jim looked up and over to Amanda. “Mandy?”

“Yes Jim?” Amanda said without looking up from where she was peeling the freshly rinsed yams.

“Why do we celebrate Thanksgiving?”

“Well Jim, it’s a holiday based off of some events that took place many hundreds of years ago, right here in America.”

“Like what?” The boy asked curiously. Now Spock too paused in his endeavors and glanced inquisitively up at his mother.

“It isn’t important anymore. The story ends in tragedy and loss on the part of the Native People. Thanksgiving was once in memoriam of this event but in today’s times it is about family and friends coming together and celebrating. It’s not widely practiced anymore since it is viewed as mostly an American holiday, but I’d like to celebrate today with my three boys.” She said smiling down at Jim.

“Why won’t you tell us the real story?” Jim questioned.

“Because it was horrid. I don’t want what happened such a long time ago to define our celebration together, ok?”

“Ok.” Jim said softly. He quietly resumed his yam washing.

Amanda realizing that the child thought he was being chastised gave a soft sigh before kneeling down in front of the small blonde and placing her hands on his shoulders. “Jim, we’re celebrating Thanksgiving today because of you. You are part of this family now and we’re so happy about that.”

Jim smiled slightly before raising his eyebrow in a perfect imitation of his new foster brother, “Happy?” He asked impishly gesturing at Spock.

Amanda grinned picking up Jim and placing him on her hip, “Yes, dear, happy.” She leaned in to whisper in his ear conspiratorially, “They might not show it, but they are.” She winked.   

Jim gave a tiny giggle before Amanda placed him back on the floor. After a few more minutes of silent cooking passed, Amanda glanced around the kitchen before dusting her yam covered hands off on her bright teal apron. “Ok boys. I think you’ve done enough for now, why don’t you two go and play.” She suggested.  

Jim hopped from his step tool in excitement while Spock gave his mother a patronizing look, “Vulcans do not play, mother.”

“Yes of course not.” Amanda agreed cheerfully. “How could I have been so mistaken to assume that you and Jim spend hours together every day ‘playing’ when it’s so obvious that what you’re really doing is plotting my downfall.”

“We are not.” Spock said outraged.

Jim elbowed him in the ribs, “Sarcasm.” He mouthed.

Realizing that his mother had only been teasing him, Spock shot her the most Vulcan glare he could muster before taking Jim’s hand and walking forcefully out of the kitchen.

Needless to say, Thanksgiving was a big hit with the human half of the family.  

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comment please!


	16. Going to Vulcan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a short chapter to begin to set up some of the things I have in mind for later in the plot. The family heads to Vulcan to bond Spock to T'Pring. It does not go well. (Set 2 years later)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OK. So I'm really really really really reeeeeeeaaaaaalllllllyyyyyyy sorry. I did NOT mean for this to take so long to update. I was in a writer's block rut for a long time with this story and I couldn't seem to write this chapter. Then I went away for a month to live in the woods working with Americorps and I have only been back for a few weeks. I'm super sorry that I kept everyone waiting for so long. On the bright side, while this chapter is short, it is more of a filler chapter to get the ball rolling on the next part of this story, so I will post pretty regularly now that I have this chap out of the way. Thanks for the patience! 
> 
> <3 Elaine

 

**Two Years Later: Shi’Kahr, Vulcan**

Jim was confused. He had grown up his whole life thinking people got married because they loved each other, and even then only when they were grown-ups. But here he sat waiting outside of a ceremonial hall in the capital city of Vulcan with Amanda while his brother got engaged to a girl he’d never met. He couldn’t understand it. Mandy had tried to explain to him that Spock needed a mate for when he was older or bad things would happen, but Jim still couldn’t see why Spock needed one _now_.

When they had been told by Sarek that the family was going to be departing for Vulcan Spock had looked like he was going to be sick and wouldn’t come out of his room for days. Jim could tell that he obviously didn’t want to go through with whatever was being done to him behind the locked doors of the hall and the blonde boy wanted desperately to help him.

On the day of the ceremony, Spock had been dressed up in the fanciest robes Jim had ever laid eyes upon and then ushered into a room with Sarek and an intimidating looking Vulcan high priestess who turned out to be his grandmother. Moments later a young girl entered the hall with her mother and then all was silent. Jim and Amanda had been told that the ceremony would take hours. It had only been 10 minutes and Jim was already pacing nervously.

“Jim, honey, come sit down.” Amanda gestured for him to sit next to her on the small stone bench positioned outside of the hall.

Jim moved over to Amanda, “But, Mandy…why is this happenin’?” He queried.

“Spock needs a mate for when he gets older, you know that.”

“No he doesn’t, he’s got me! I can be his mate!” Jim huffed angrily.

“It’s not the same as being best friends, Jim.” She said softly, “He needs someone to b-” Amanda was cut off mid-sentence as the door came slamming open and nearly bashed her in the face with its trajectory. A livid looking Spock came marching out the door as fast as his little legs could carry him. In one motion he grabbed Jim’s hand, pulled him up from his seated pose and dragged him back outside and into the car.

Sarek exited the room behind his son looking slightly miffed. Amanda raised a questioning eyebrow at her husband. “That did _not_ go well.” He said simply in response.

“No kidding.” Amanda said rising to her feet to follow her sons out. “Did she pull his pigtails or something?”

“Amanda, our son does not have a tail.” Sarek said looking alarmed.

“Expression, dear.” She informed him.

“Ah.”

“Well I think it’s probably best if we not try to bond him again.” Amanda stared after the two boys.

“Agreed.”

“Besides, Jim already volunteered to be his mate.” Amanda said cheekily.

“Pardon me?”

“You heard me.”

“Jim is seven, he does not know what he asks.” Sarek said gravely.

“So was T’Pring.”

“It is not the same.”

“Isn’t it? Give it time, Sarek. Spock can find his own mate, if he ever even needs one.” She said referring to the uncertainty of Spock’s projected reproductive cycle.

“Very well.” The pair had reached the car.

“Who’s ready to go home?” Amanda said sliding in behind the wheel. She turned to look in the back seat and was confronted with a traumatized looking Vulcan and a human who couldn’t have looked more pleased.

“I am!” Jim raised his hand excitedly. “This place is dumb.”

“I’m right with you there honey.” Amanda agreed pointedly looking at her husband in the passenger seat. A moment later Amanda had pulled the car into the road and they were on their way back to the family villa.

**********

Spock sat in his bed that night sleeplessly staring up at the ceiling. He had always known he was different than the other Vulcan children due to his human heritage, but he had moved to Earth at such a young age that he never really got the brunt of the animosity directed at him. It was no different with the human children: they all thought him strange and were annoyed by his intelligence- well, all but Jim.

Spock’s father had attempted to arrange his bonding to a young Vulcan female that day. Spock had not wanted to go through with it at all, he couldn’t imagine himself being bound to the girl and he wasn’t even sure he could do it. Upon arriving in the ceremonial hall, his grandmother, T’Pau had formed a small mind link between the two children to test their compatibility. It was then that the girl, T’Pring, became rather temperamental. She became outraged, ranting about how she could never bond her mind with scum such as Spock, that he was too human, too emotional for her refined tastes. But the worst of the blows came when she turned on him and told his father that he wasn’t even “attracted to females like he _should_ be”. Sarek seemed about to rise to the defense of his son when the mother of the girl began to berate him in a menacing tone. The worst part for Spock, wasn’t when T’Pring humiliated and debased him but when his father, instead of becoming angry, looked contrite.

He wasn’t sure if it was because of the fact that the bonding had not gone well, or if he regretted Spock himself. For the first time in his short life, Spock began to realize that being a “child of two worlds” wasn’t good, but instead it meant he would never be accepted into either society- Vulcan or Human. Thankfully he had Jim.

But in the privacy of his room staring up at the darkened ceiling, he wondered how long that would stay true. Surely Jim would make other friends at his school and when he did, Spock would most probably be left by the wayside. Without Jim he was utterly and horribly alone.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comment please! I really appreciate it when my readers tell me what they think! Questions, criticisms, anything!


	17. Magic Touch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jim doesn't like that Spock has been ignoring him. He takes matters into his own hands.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay!!! The inspiration machine is up and running! Hooray!!

 

The universe is a magical place when you’re a child. Anything can happen and nothing is impossible. As a seven year old third grader, Jim knew this to be true. He and Spock could work miracles with the power of their minds and together the duo was unstoppable. The boys would stay up late into the night coming up with everything from original schematics of unbuilt starships to ideas for socks you could wear that would never get smelly. Their imagination was endless and their enthusiasm without bounds. Of course Amanda never knew about any of their escapades, and if she did, she never interfered.

But all of that stopped after the fateful trip to Vulcan. At first Spock had seemed angry to Jim, but as the days wore on he seemed to become more and more somber. After almost a week of being ignored by his best friend, his brother, the most important person in his life, Jim Kirk was fed up.

It was two am on a Saturday night when he decided that he needed to take action. He had woken up after having a nightmare in which Spock had faded before his eyes until he was nothing but dust to be blown away by the wind. He couldn’t let Spock become dust. Very quietly, he tiptoed out of his bedroom and into Spock’s adjoining room.

When Jim quietly pushed the door open he was shocked by what he saw. Spock was not in bed as he should be but was instead sitting on the floor looking out the window, but that wasn’t what surprised Jim, the startling observation he made was that the Vulcan boy’s face was streaked with glistening tear tracks. Jim took a cautious step into the room.

“Spock?” He asked in a voice barely more than a whisper.

Spock’s head shot up in alarm and he whipped around to stare at Jim. He looked like a deer in headlights, unsure whether to freeze or to run. Jim, sensing his anxiety, put his hands up placatingly, “Spock, what’s wrong?”

Hurriedly the other boy wiped his damp face of the edge of his long pajama sleeve and stood up, his face sliding seemingly effortlessly into an emotionless mask that never used to exist. “There is nothing the matter, Jim, return to your bed.” Spock walked to the door and pointed the way back to Jim’s room.

Spock had never ever kicked Jim out of his space before and Jim was so disconcerted by this new development that he almost let Spock usher him out the door with a firm hand on his back. At the last second Jim gained his bearings and turned back on Spock. “No!” He said forcefully.

Spock raised his eyebrows. “Pardon me?”

“Spock, you tell me what is wrong RIGHT NOW or I’ll-”

Jim was cut off, “There is nothing wrong Jim. I am well.”

“Tell. Me. NOW.” Jim whisper shouted not believing Spock’s words for a second. When the other boy began to deflate Jim changed his tone, “Spock, please, do-do you not wat to be brothers anymore? Do you even want to be friends?” He said remembering the past days in which Spock barely looked at him, let alone talked to him.

At this Spock looked fearful and his eyes dilated into pools of darkness, “I-if…if that is what you wish…”

“Of course it’s not!”  

“Then why-”

“Because you’ve been ignoring me for **days** ,ever since we got back from that tr-”, Jim broke off suddenly realizing something, “Are you upset about that stupid girl?” He asked quietly.

“I am not upset about her.” Spock said softly.

Jim took two steps forward until he was right in front of Spock. Then an idea hit him, he knew that Spock wasn’t going to be telling him what was wrong anytime soon, so he’d just have to find out on his own.

In a split second Jim latched his fingers on to Spock face in an imitation of a position Sarek had formed once. Then, before Spock could even realize what was going on, Jim had slammed the Vulcan’s hand roughly onto his cheek.

In all honesty, Jim hadn’t really expected it to work. But such is the mind of a child, nothing is inconceivable if only you try. So when a second later the world around Jim faded into blackness to be replaced by strange images and words flitting across his eyes, Jim was gleeful. Now of course, the boy was not telepathic in the slightest, so he couldn’t exactly discern anything concrete from Spock’s mind but what he got was a mixture of violent emotions that told him all he needed to know about what was bothering his best friend.

A moment later the surface meld was broken and Spock was left staring at a dazed Jim in utter astonishment. “Jim…how did you do that?”

“What do ya mean?” Jim blinked rapidly.

“You melded us…”

“Yeah, so?”

“You are human.”

“Really? I hadn’t noticed.” The sarcasm dripped from Jim’s tone.

“A human should not have been able to do that.” Spock was now looking at the golden haired boy as if he were a unicorn that had just pranced into the house offering the family take out fried chicken.

“Really? Well that’s kinda weird.” Jim chuckled. Then he got serious, “Spock, yu don’t have to worry, it’s all going to be-” But he broke off noticing the expression on Spock’s face, all of the color had drain from his skin and he seemed to be concentrating very hard on something Jim could not see.

“Jim…” He said slowly, “it would appear that your unpredicted breach of my shield has created an unexpected side effect…”

“What is it?” Jim said instantly worried that he had caused some irreparable damage.

“You have linked us.”

“Linked?”

“You have created a telepathic connection between our minds. It is not strong, but it is there.” Spock explained looking like he was expecting Jim to bolt in fear.

But all Jim did was grin, “That’s so cool!”

“Truly?”

“Of course, Spock!” He reached out to hug the other boy, “You’re my best friend, my brother, I’d never abandon you!” He said getting to the root of what he had discovered in the meld.

“I see.”

“You know you’re pretty dumb sometimes.” Jim said from where his small head rested on Spock’s shoulder. “I don’t know why you think I’d leave ya, but you belong right here. With me. We’re a team yanno.” Jim paused to lead Spock over to his bed. “We’re gonna sail the stars together, ‘member?”

“Yes.” The two boys snuggled under the covers of Spock’s bed. Jim yawned and cuddled next to Spock.

“I’ll be the captain and you the first officer,” Jim said sleepily, “It’ll be great.”

“Yes.” Spock agreed again.

“I love you, Spock.” Jim said as he drifted off.

He never knew that Spock laid awake long after Jim was asleep mulling over those three words and the fact that no one but Amanda had ever spoken them to him. When it was nearing dawn, Jim unconsciously pressed his hand to Spock’s. Spock froze before looking over at the sleeping boy. After a moment he closed his eyes and whispered into the darkness in a voice that was barely audible, “I love you too, Jim.”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please comment! I love reading them!


	18. How To Be Vulcan By T'Pring and Friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Spock moves to Vulcan with his father for eight months to prepare for his VSA pre tests.   
> 5 years later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Bullying

 

Amanda knew that the death of her stepson Sybok had greatly affected her husband and that it was a hardship for him to move past his untimely passing. Sybok had abandoned the ways of Surak as a young man and had instead embraced emotion. He quickly rose through the ranks of other rebelling Vulcans and eventually was banished from Vulcan for spreading propaganda and creating a situation that could become potentially dangerous. As with most fanatics, Sybok easily and quickly amassed a huge following. But as with many cults and outlying groups, their belief was also their downfall. Sybok’s emotional acceptance allowed him to be manipulated and controlled which eventually led to the destruction of his followers and himself.

So it was with a heavy heart but an understanding mind that she agreed to allow her husband to instill vulcan principles in Spock instead of any human ones. She knew that being raised Vulcan and growing up to become a part of Vulcan society would be the safest and most reasonable course of action for her son. She would of course regret the loss of his emotions and his love but she knew that he was far safer without them.

 

**********

 

Since Spock was a very small child, he had been prepped and primed, told and ordered, pushed and pulled, all in expectation of his eventual initiation into the VSA. On his twelfth birthday he was ushered off to Vulcan for eight months to be immersed in a 30 week study program to prepare him for the pre-tests to assess if he was qualified and of a high enough intelligence level to be considered for the entrance exams when he was finished with his secondary education. Jim and Amanda stayed behind on Earth. In order for him to focus completely on his studies, he was allowed only minimal contact with them. One comm call a month was allotted.

 

The first week was simple, he had not yet begun to notice his separation from Jim. The second week was more difficult as the longer he stayed away from Jim, the more it began to take a toll on him. His father would not allow such emotions interfering with his work. Each week that went by became harder and harder as he simultaneously had to manage his emotions and not let on that he had any emotions to manage in the first place. It didn’t help that by week six T’Pring had told all of the other students that he had a human mother, lived on Earth, and was not interested in females.

 

 

**********

 

 

“Your time preparing with us is wasteful. You are not Vulcan. You will not be accepted into the Vulcan Science Academy.” Stonn confronted him.

 

“I will not renounce my future simply because I am not of the same genetics as my peers.”

 

“You do not deserve to be here.”

 

Spock would show those of his peers that looked down upon him that he was more than deserving of this opportunity.

 

 

**********

 

 

“I presume you've prepared new insults for today.”

  
“Your mother lies with many men.”

 

“I have no such information.” Spock replied.

 

“Vulcans do not lie.” Seken replied.

 

 

**********

 

 

“You are neither human, nor Vulcan -- and therefore, have no place in the universe.”  
  


“This is your thirty-fifth attempt to elicit an emotional response from me. Logic dictates you would cease by now.”  


  
**********

 

 

“Look. He has human eyes. They look sad, do they not?”  
  


 

**********

 

 

“He's a traitor, you know. Your father. For marrying her.”

 

“A traitor to whom?” Spock walked away.

 

 

**********

 

 

“You will never bond. Who would want to bond with an unstable half breed? You will never be Vulcan. You will never be human.” T’Pring confronted him in his twelfth week.

 

“Indeed.” Spock cast his eyes away and resumed his walk to class.

 

 

**********

 

 

“Humans are not nearly as accepting of homosexuality as vulcans are. No vulcan would bond with you, nor will any human.”

 

Spock turned away.

  


**********

 

“It is a shame that you will always be too emotional for you father.” Stonn.

 

“But not emotional enough for your mother.” T’Pring.

 

 

**********

 

“Will you cry?”

 

“I will not.”

 

“Are you certain?” T’Lerak pushed him into one of the learning dishes.

 

 

**********

 

  
"What is the purpose of you remaining on Vulcan?” Senek paused, “You are not Vulcan. Why would you continue to attempt to learn concepts that are beyond you?”

 

Spock noted that he sounded genuinely confused.

 

**********

 

By the fifth month he no longer contacted his mother or Jim. He could not feel the link the other boy had to him as he had barricaded it off in the back of his mind. He rarely spoke with his father. He had no friends; it was not like he needed any anyways. He **_was_** vulcan. He **_could_** **_be_** vulcan.

 

Two weeks later while visiting an orbiting space station he met Lexi and suddenly he was free.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heh. So.... all I can really say is sorry... I done screwed up guys, sorry for leaving you hanging. Please comment and I will write more!


	19. Seventh Grade Lovers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a short chapter in Jim's POV

 

 

“Oh. Em. Gee.” Trisha paused, “Jimmy you have gawt to be kidding me!”

“What?” Jim was very confused. Teenage girls were very strange and unpredictable.

“I SAW YOU!”

“Saw me what?” He asked bewildered as Trisha and her heavily eyelinered eyes stalked towards him after science class.

“I SAW YOU WITH LULU!” She was an inch from his face now.

“So?”

“SO?! So you’re cheating on me!” Jim was alarmed to see tears forming in Trisha’s green eyes.

“Cheating on you?” Jim balked, “I didn’t even know we were dating!”

“Ugh! You asshole.” Trisha turned on her heel and marched away.

Jim was left standing rather confused in the middle of the seventh grade hallway. Maybe when he turned 12 in a few weeks he would understand girls more. He wished his brother were there to help him, Spock would know what to do.

For the thousandth time he tried to check up on Spock through their well-used link but he encountered only blank silence. He figured it was probably the distance but he couldn’t help but feel uneasy about the loss of what had become such an important part of his life in the last five years. Spock had stopped calling and without the link Jim had no idea how he was doing.

He had talked to Mandy about his concerns but she only smiled and told him that Spock was very busy with school and that Sarek said he was doing very well and that he had even met some new acquaintances.

The bell pulled Jim out of his reverie and into the real world again. Startled he rushed to class.

“Well Mr. Kirk,” his math teacher Mr. Krann drawled, “late again I see.”

“I- I just, it wa-”

“No excuses Mr. Kirk! Be on time or be behind! You know the rules.” The scruffy old teacher said.

“Yes sir.” Jim said bashfully finding his seat. From the back he could hear Trisha snickering.

Jim made sure to pay extra attention to everything Mr. Krann lectured about that day and he even had all his homework done by the end of class. When the bell rang again signaling lunch he hurriedly gathered his bag and left the room like his ass was on fire. Unfortunately this meant that he immediately smashed directly into Karin who was exiting her class across the hall.

Karin yelped and clutched her elbow where Jim’s bag had slammed into her with the force of their collision.

“Oh my gosh. I’m really sorry Karin!” He apologized to the pretty brown haired girl.

“Jeez Jim get it together!” She scowled.

“I’ll buy you something from the desert cart to make it up to you?” Jim said like it was a question.

Karin seemed to think about it for a moment before she nodded and turned to walk towards the cafeteria. “So I heard about your break up with Trisha.”

“Did everyone in the seventh grade know we were dating except me?” Jim asked frustrated.

“Ha! Yeah probably.” She laughed sardonically. “Why, you don’t like her?”

“What? No! It’s not that,” They rounded a corner, “It’s just that I don’t like her like _that.”_

“Ooohhh. So you like Lulu.” Karin concluded.

“Uh…no…”

“But like everyone saw you holding hands!” She raised an eyebrow and looked at him suspiciously.

“I mean yeah, but only because she fell off her bike after school and I helped her up.” Jim explained logically.

“Yeah but you wouldn’t have done that if you didn’t like her.” Karin pointed out.

“Yeah I would have!” They were approaching the cafeteria doors.

“No you wouldn’t.” She laughed, “No guy would.”

“I so would have! Maybe all the other guys here are just jerks!”

“Hmmm…maybe.” Karin paused. “Peanut butter puppy chow.”

“Huh?” Jim looked up at her (the 12 year old girl had a good six inches on him).

“That’s what I want from the cart.”

“Oh! Yeah sorry.” Jim paid for her puppy chow and she turned on her heel with a small wave.

 _Jeez. Women!_ Jim thought. He knew it was kind of sexist to group all girls in one category but all the ones that seemed inclined to talk with him were rather touchy. He shrugged, hiked his bag up, and grabbed a lunch tray.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comment! Leave Kudos! Subscribe!   
> Knowing what you think helps me write!


	20. Fascinating Things

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a mini teaser chapter!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi. So, sorry...again. The combination of school this year and depression has really been kicking my ass. Someone please remind me why I decided to be a science major!? I know it has been a while again and I know this is a tiny chapter, I just don't have it in me to write more tonight. I am exhausted and I still have like 3 or so hours of work to do. So I apologize for the shortness here.

 

 

Spock had not slept in six days. He had not eaten in two. The entirety of his focus had been on preparing for his tests. With them now completed and his return to Earth scheduled for later that evening he could focus on other things. He had not spoken to Jim or his mother in almost four months. It should have been an odd feeling to have been away from them for so long but Spock felt nothing. He did not miss them. He did not miss anything. He wondered if they missed him.

He tried to eat a bit of replicated dinner but promptly threw it up so he stopped trying. He was not concerned. It was hard for him to keep most food down lately, this was not unusual. He found that the more he became Vulcan the less he needed to eat or sleep, he reasoned that it was just natural progression.

That night on the shuttle to Earth, he locked himself in the bathroom in his suite to take a sonic shower. However he experienced a malfunction with the shower door that resulted in one of his fingers being smashed in the gap between door and wall. Upon opening the door again he examined his finger. It was already beginning to bruise and two cuts ran parallel across it. Green blood was oozing from them at a steady trickle. Spock felt no pain. Spock felt nothing.

“Fascinating.” He said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please comment. Remind me to write this weekend when I am not so clogged up with stress and unable to write good chapters.


End file.
